CHESTER-le-Street students are preparing for the trip of a lifetime during the summer holidays.

A team of 18 teenagers from the town’s Park View School will spend a month on a World Challenge expedition to Ecuador.

The youngsters have secured places on the expedition and each must raise £4,755.

The students will fly to the capital, Quito, on July 4 and start altitude acclimatisation on a two-day trek up to Al Chaupi, 3,250m high.

The main five-day exploration is of the central highlands around Quiloto, and includes a trek to the summit of Quiloto lagoon and an exploration of the cloud forest.

They will also climb to the volcano summit of Rumiñahui, 4, 634m above sea level.

In the second phase they will travel to the Amazon Rainforest to learn about conservation and local culture and work in a local village before touring the Galapagos Islands.

Sixth-former Anna Woods said: “I have really enjoyed working towards the expedition and I’m really excited.

"I still have some funding raising to do but all the hard work will have been worth it.”

School leader Andrew Bishop said that the students had been a credit to themselves and Park View.