Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy pupil aims to raise £3,400 for Nepal visit

A teenager is looking forward to helping with a humanitarian project in Nepal next summer.

Poppy Coles, 16, of Fernwood, is aiming to raise £3,400 to take part in the educational trip.

Poppy, a pupil at Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy, will be taking part in the adventure with fellow pupils in July.

The 17-day trip is being run by Global Action, which educates young people about global change through expeditions.

Poppy heard about the Nepal trip when Global Aid visited her school, and knew straight away that she wanted to take part.

Encouraged by her father, Brad, and stepmother, Liz, she set about making plans to raise the money for the trip.

Global Action believes fundraising for humanitarian aid is a key part of participants’ experience, by promoting personal development before the expedition. Poppy agrees.

“It has really helped me with my confidence,” she said. “It is a challenge but it will help me greatly with my future.”

Poppy has already raised more than £1,000 towards her target, with a series of events including carwashing outside her home with a friend.

“I washed cars for six hours one day in the summer ­— it was so hot,” Poppy said.

The family, which also includes Holly, 14, and Willow, 1, moved to Fernwood from Collingham a year ago, and Liz said residents had been big supporters of Poppy’s carwashing sessions.

Poppy has also helped run discos for younger pupils at her school, sold decorations at Christmas fairs, done supermarket bag-packs, and a sponsored 24-hour fast.

Her next event is a Nepalese dinner on January 19 at the Everest Inn, Newark, which specialises in Nepalese cuisine.

The restaurant is putting on a five-course tasting menu for £25 a head, with £10 per ticket going towards Poppy’s appeal.

The trip will include a five-day trek, staying in local tea-houses, helping with a community project such as a well or a school, and learning about Nepalese culture.

“I’m really excited to be learning about somewhere completely different,” Poppy said.

As well as being busy fund-raising, Poppy is preparing to sit ten GCSEs in the summer. She hopes to then do her A-levels, and go to university, where he would like to study something sport-related.

She is a keen footballer, and has recently been selected to play for the Lincolnshire under-16 girls’ team, She is also a goalkeeper for Newark Town FC Ladies.

Poppy is a volunteer helper with Collingham Brownies, which she started as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and continued because she enjoyed it.

“I’m really busy, and it’s a challenge, but it’s worth it,” she said.