Sixth Form students and Beaminster School staff are taking part in a three-week adventure in India.

Part of the bi-annual expedition will be spent with two charities that Beaminster School has been supporting for the last 18 years – The Asha Deep Foun-dation, with its orphanage, school work with slum dwellers and ‘rag picking’ children, and the Dattapur Leprosy Com-munity, close to Gandhi’s Ashram in Sevagram in the centre of India.

The group – 19 students and three school staff – will visit Jaipur and witness Diwali, the wildlife of the Ranthambore National Park and visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Trip leader Stephen Bassett, an English teacher at Beaminster School, said: “The students have been very busy raising money to support the charities by organising coffee mornings, curry nights, selling cakes and organising quiz nights among other events. We would also like to thank the Ilminster Lions, the Beaminster School Association and Frances Tucker Trust for their support.”

In a first for the trip, the paint and renovation materials for the Leprosy Community have been very kindly sponsored by British Solar Renewables – enabling more of the students’ funds to be used directly with the charities.

Stephen Bassett was part of the trip two years ago and prepared the students for the culture shock.

He said: “The green hills of Beaminster are about as stark a contrast as you can have with the heat, pollution, smell and noise of Delhi.

“It can be quite over-powering, but an experience I hope the students will cherish.

“Working with the charities will give them a greater perspective on life.”

The group will provide updates during the trip on the school’s Facebook page, and Twitter feed @BeaminsterSch.

The students departed on October 18 and will return on November 7.