FINANCIAL aid has been delivered to a boarding school for Sherpa children.

The funds were raised by pupils, parents and staff at Queen Mary's, an independent school for girls at Baldersby, near Thirsk, as part of their ongoing support of the venture.

More than £1,000 was taken to the Himalayas by trekkers Chris Brown and Chris I'Anson during a climbing trip to the Everest base camp.

Mr Brown, a farmer from Baldersby, is an experienced mountaineer who has conquered Everest in the past while Mr I'Anson is chairman of one of the UK's leading manufacturers of animal feedstuffs.

The Sapta Gandaki Secondary School, in Kathmandu, was founded by Ang Rita Sherpa and three others in 1993, and serves as a boarding school for Sherpa children.

It has more than 100 students from Sherpa families, between the ages of three and 16 and teaches a wide range of subjects.

In 2000, Ang Rita visited Mr Brown at his farm. During the trip, he forged a friendship with Queen Mary's School, which is attended by two of Mr I'Anson's nieces.

Inspired by meeting the Sherpa, Queen Mary's went on to undertake a programme of fundraising initiatives to raise the funds to sponsor Ang Rita's son, Pemba, 13. The money that they managed to raise this time will support Pemba through three years of his education.