SPONSORS who helped nine young people from Crediton complete their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award in Malawi this summer were invited to share the experience and look at some of the items brought back.

Each of the nine - students at Queen Elizabeth's Community College - were in Malawi for three weeks. They were the first people ever to complete their DofE award by trekking in the Mulanje Mountains.

They were accompanied by John Wright (QE maths teacher) and Astrid Callomon (group leader Outlook Expeditions), the company through whom the group travelled.

To get there, each of the nine had to raised £2,800. One student, Cara Ripley, even did a sponsored sky dive. Between them, they completed three projects in Malawi.

They created a map of the country from photographs they took while there and of the lake and the huts where they stayed, studied the Malawi culture, and gave a presentation to the Haywards School at Crediton about everything the students had to take with them.