A FAIRFORD school pupil has been supported by a luxury lakeside company in her fundraising activities for a charity trip to Ethiopia this summer.

Year 11 Farmor's School pupil Molly van der Heiden approached Lakes by Yoo in Lechlade to talk about how to raise money for her World Challenge trip, where she will be helping with a building project at Farmor's partner school, Zuria Secondary at Bahir Dar.

She was amazed to receive an incredible raffle prize from them worth £1,600. She then went on to sell tickets to family and friends.

"We were delighted to support Molly", said Giles Baker at Lakes by Yoo. "She wrote a professional letter and had some imaginative ideas for ways in which we could work together - she didn't just write and ask for money. And we fully support the charitable nature of her trip."

Molly was given a two-night stay at one of the lodges and decided to run a very exclusive draw.

To mark the fact that she will be in Ethiopia for 21 days, she offered just 21 raffle tickets at £21 each to family and friends. The usual cost of a two-day stay would be around £1,600.

The tickets sold out in 12 hours and the draw took place earlier this week, overseen by Miss de la Cadena, the Farmor’s teacher leading the trip to Ethiopia. A work colleague of Molly's mother won the prize and is very much looking forward to his stay.

Molly is also collaborating with Lakes by Yoo on a promotional film for their School of Wild sessions. She gathered a team of willing young people to try out the wilder side of the estate - they made fires, climbed trees, rowed on the lake – and caught, gutted and cooked their own lunch.

Farmor's headteacher Matthew Evans said: "We are very grateful to Lakes by Yoo - it is always heartening to see local companies becoming fully involved with their community."

Farmor’s School and World Challenge lead annual World Challenge expeditions. In recent years, pupils have travelled to Chile and Bolivia, Peru and Borneo, carrying out a range of charitable activities on each trip at schools and orphanages. The trips also helps students develop a range of skills such as budgeting, leadership and team work.