TEENAGERS from Swaziland saw snow for the first time during a visit to Darlington – and learned how British youngsters avoid contracting HIV.

This week, three students and their teacher travelled from the Good Shepherd High School in Siteki, Swaziland to Darlington in a trip organised by local charity RAID.

Their mission was to learn as much as possible about sexual health and education in England and take their knowledge back to share at home.

More than 60 per cent of the pupils at their school are orphans, left without one or both parents usually as a result of AIDS or poverty.

In Swaziland, HIV and AIDS are widespread and not enough is done to educate youngsters about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, according to 18-year-old Henson Nxumalo, chair of the school’s health club.

He said: “There is a small number of people with HIV in England, some young people here don’t even know what it is.

“In our country 56% of people are infected, children are becoming orphans and it has a negative impact on us.

“There's a high number of people in England who finish school but education for us is not free and it's a small number who go to university.

“When I get back, I can make a difference, try to stop young people becoming infected and encourage them to go to university.

“Without education, your chances in life are very slim and for us to prosper, we need to be educated.”

During their trip, Henson and friends Glan and Straight joined their teacher Lindiwe Ntuli and young people from RAID in exploring the North-East.

Glan celebrated his 13th birthday in Darlington by meeting the town’s mayor, Councillor Gerald Lee.