TWO students have won places to work with the charity Project Trust during their "gap year" from education.

Laura Gregory and Sarah Bell, both 17, and students at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form, Darlington, were selected to work for the charity, which carries out work with deprived communities around the world.

To get their place, they had to spend a week on the Isle of Coll, off Scotland's west coast, to assess their suitability.

Now, they have to raise £3,350 each to fund their work and have arranged such events as sponsored parachute jumps, a concert and raffles.

Between A-levels in 2001 and going to university in 2002, Sarah, from Darlington, will work with abandoned and orphaned children in Botswana, while Laura, from Heighington, will teach English to deprived children in Sri Lanka.

Sarah said: "I'm excited and thrilled with the opportunity. It will give me more experience of life and will broaden my outlook. I'm interested in different cultures and life in Botswana will be really challenging."

Giles Bayliss, the teacher who introduced the girls to the trust, said: "Laura and Sarah have done exceptionally well; it is an outstanding achievement. Their work in Botswana and Sri Lanka will have a profound effect on their personal development and approach to life."