A student from Yeadon is preparing to climb Kilimanjaro to raise money for a children’s charity.

Patrick Mangham, 18, who is in his first year at Birmingham University, will undertake the challenge in aid of Childreach International – a charity which aims to give children from impoverished backgrounds the chance of a better life.

He will be part of a team of 25 students from Birmingham and Aston universities.

He said: “The climb will take us approximately six days in total, depending on the weather and conditions. We are aiming to climb the mountain as a personal challenge that will push us to the limit as a team.

“This effort we hope will inspire people to give money to Childreach, and by the looks of it, it will be a real challenge. We aim to raise a total of £2,800 each which will give us a grand total as a team of £70,000, a considerable sum of money that will make a great difference to the children our charity supports.”

Patrick, who is studying Mechanical Engineering, is a former student of Benton Park School. He went on to secure a place at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College with an Army Scholarship.    He and the rest of his team are now preparing for the challenge.

He said: “As for training, at the moment we are all doing personal training to bring our fitness levels up or to maintain them at their current standard.

“However, closer to the time we aim to go on group treks to ensure we can all work and trek well as a group.

“At the moment a lot of the focus is on fundraising and raising our target is going to be very difficult.  We are doing the usual such as sponsored events and bag packing, but we also aim to host bigger events such as charity gigs as well.”

He stressed that any donation, no matter how small, could make a big difference to the charity.

For more information, visit mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/patrickmangham21.