TWO primary school teachers face a vast change in scenery and climate next week.
Ruth Davis and Alison James leave behind the wintry conditions of the River Browney valley, west of Durham, for the tropical temperatures of west Africa.
Esh Church of England Primary School, in Esh Village, is forging links with a Muslim school in the Gambia. It is part of a global awareness scheme the school has embarked on to introduce its 78 pupils to varying cultures and different religions.
Ms Davis and Ms James will spend their half-term holiday helping to teach hundreds of pupils at the Mandinari Lower School.
Staff at the school in Gambia will also benefit as they will make a reciprocal trip to Esh Village in July.
School headteacher Mike Urwin said: "Our teachers will bring back first-hand experience of life in a culture very different to our own."
The teachers have had their final jabs and fly out to the Gambia on February 12 for a week.
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