FOUR Pewsey Vale School students have had an unforgettable trip to The Gambia helping the community and setting up a new business converting litter into tiles.

The 15-year-olds spent 11 days in October half term experiencing the different culture after their business proposal won the VIBE competition, run by the Marlborough Brandt Group, to visit Gunjur.

Max Knight, Max Young, Robert Boyce and Andrew Gray, as well as Charlie Stephens, who was unable to go due to medical reasons, came up with the idea to melt plastic bags into tile moulds to be used for roofs, patios and walls.

They were joined by Caroline Harmer from the Brandt group and Pewsey Vale teacher Fiona Burke. They also worked with a local welder using a heavy duty cooking pot to melt the plastic bags, and after initial problems with melting the plastic, there were celebrations when the first tile was created.

As well as an educational trip it was also an eye-opening experience for the Year 11 students as there were no flushing toilets or showers and they had to use buckets of water to wash.

Max Knight said: “It is the first time I have ever left the country, so going to Gambia and Africa was an experience.

“It was different going from a first world country and the luxuries we have, like being able to get water from a tap, to then going to a country where you have got to buy bottled water every day and it tasting horrible because it has been in the heat all day.”

They mostly ate fish, chicken, cucumber and tomatoes with cold chips, spicy rice and lots of bread, and they took part in drumming and a beach walk collecting shells.

Andrew’s favourite part of the trip was working with the locals to make the tiles, which they hope can become a commercial business.

"They were all very enthusiastic and friendly,” he said.

They also went into a secondary school where they saw the difference between their school and the ones in Gunjur which had chalk boards, students sat on rickety benches and the lessons lasted 35 minutes. There is already talk of them returning next summer to do volunteering work.

Max Young added: “It was definitely a culture shock but interesting.”