STUDENTS of Okehampton College have said their expedition to India was the trip of a lifetime.

The group, comprised of 29 students and six members of staff, had been on a three-week expedition which included a community building project in three villages across the Ladakh region, as well as a six-day trek in the Indian mountains.

The students departed from Okehampton on July 17, and arrived in New Delhi after a nine-hour flight from Heathrow. The pupils agreed that New Delhi was like no place they had ever been before, the intensely humid climate, and incredibly busy streets were a world-away from their lives in Devon.

After a short stay in New Delhi the group flew out to Leh — a district in the north Indian mountains with an altitude of 3,500 metres. In Leh, the students were split into three teams and each travelled to a different village to carry out a community building project.

The projects consisted of the students working together with the local villagers to build LEHO greenhouses. The implementation of these specially designed greenhouses help small-scale farmers living in the mountain regions improve their livelihood. The greenhouses, heated entirely by sunlight to keep the inner temperature high enough to grow vegetables even when outside temperatures drop to -25°C in the winter months. The trip and projects were organised by Outlook Expeditions — a company which plan and support school expeditions across the globe.

After a few days working and living with the villagers, the students and staff took a break from building to undertake a challenging six-day valley trek.

Rhys Aven, 17, said: ‘The trek was my highlight of the trip, being up so high in the mountains and almost isolated was such a surreal yet fantastic experience. The views were amazing and it was like nothing I had ever done before. The trek is definitely something I would do again.’

The groups completed their treks before heading back to the villages. After three more days of hard work, the groups completed building the greenhouses.

Ben Biaggi, 16, said: ‘Helping the village community gave us a real insight into the various rural communities in India, and the kind of work and conditions they have to face every single day. One of the community members told us about a devastating flood that happened in 2010, and even six years later we could still see some of the remaining damage. This was a real eye-opener for me.

‘I am so glad we were able to help the community build greenhouses. The villagers were so warm and welcoming of us that working together with them was my favourite part of the trip, and completing the project gave me a real sense of accomplishment.’

Next on their travels, the group endured an exciting road trip to Minali. Since completing a very long bus ride along some hair-raising roads, the groups made it to their destination, where they did some sight seeing and were able to relax.

Jaden Read, 18, said: ‘The road trip was epic, the road was apparently the second highest in the world! We practically were driving through rivers and on the edge of mountains, the views were stunning and at times, because we were so high, it felt like we were driving through the clouds.’

The last stop on the trip was one last stay in New Dehli. On their final day the students visited various spice markets and dinned in a Gurdwara (a grand place of worship for Sikhs).

Jaden added: ‘The things I’ve seen and experienced are a world away from the things I do in my day-to-day life living in Okehampton. It was amazing to experience a different culture, the trek was brilliant, but finishing the greenhouses really felt like we had done something good for other people.’

It cost each person around £3,000 to go on the trip and all of the the funds were raised by the students who worked hard and completed a number of various fundraising events.

Charlie Speyer, the teacher who organised the trip, said: ‘The school offered fundraising assistance to the students, but they each showed real leadership and real determination by fundraising for the trip completely on their own.

‘The trip was a great success! The project allowed us to experience a different culture and work with local communities. At the end of the project it was wonderful being able to see a tangible benefit which was greatly appreciated by the local villagers who had been so welcoming of us I think everyone involved in the trip felt a real sense of fulfilment when completing the projects.’

He added: ‘As a teacher, it was great to see the students’ confidence increase and their leadership skills develop while on the trip. It was fantastic seeing them take their learning from the classroom and applying it to the real world.’

Overall, the college’s trip to India was a successful and seemingly unforgettable experience which is said to have brought out the best in all of the expedition members.