A TRIUMPHANT team of entrepreneurs from Channing School have beaten hundreds of pupils to win the trip of a lifetime to India

Ben McPartland

A TRIUMPHANT team of entrepreneurs from Channing School have beaten hundreds of pupils to win the trip of a lifetime to India.

Six students from the Highgate Hill girls' school have won the prize for their outstanding fundraising efforts as part of their Wings of Hope Achievement Award.

Emma Roberts, Courtney Marks, Bonnie Groves, Alexandra Wylie, Kristina Gadsby and Maddy O'Bryen, all aged 14, beat 1,400 pupils from across the country to scoop the Best Overall Team title.

The girls were announced as the winners at the Wings of Hope Gala Ball, held at Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Cadogan Place on Saturday night.

Head of Year 10 at Channing Vicky Thorpe said: "I am extremely proud of the girls, it's a really fantastic achievement."

The team will now head off to Chennai in Southern India during their summer holidays, where they take on the role of teachers at a school supported by the Wings of Hope children's charity.

The six students will be able to see first-hand how the money they have raised is being spent. And as well as spending time teaching Indian students, the girls will be allowed to explore the local culture.

A spokeswoman for Wings of Hope said: "Each student will be able to add this prestigious award to their CV and university application forms. This will demonstrate that they are hard working, innovative, determined individuals who have the skills required to propel them into great careers."

Students who took part in the competition formed teams of 'mini-businesses' and held fundraising activities and events as well as completing a project to highlight their experience.

The Wings of Hope charity is an organisation which provides free education to poor and orphaned children in developing countries.

All the money raised goes towards the charity's two projects - a school in India and an orphan support group in Lilongwe, Malawi.

o For more information about the work, visit www.thewingsofhope. org.

ben.mcpartland@hamhigh.co.uk