A TEENAGE student is heading to India for seven weeks today to teach at a school he visited on a school trip.

Blackburn St Mary’s College student Bradley Foster, 17, from Accrington, will be engaged in charity and voluntary work assisting school before he then sets off travelling around the country.

The opportunity of this trip arose because of a visit last year to Delhi with his former high school, The Hollins Technology College.

On this trip, just by chance, he stumbled across a small school called Purkal Youth Development Society, which originally started out as a local man’s garage.

With people making regular donations it managed to expand, even though it is in a deprived area.

The school offers free education and transport, healthcare and three meals a day for its pupils.

Bradley felt he could contribute more to the cause and with regular email contact with the head teacher of Purkal, he has arranged teaching the children for two weeks in subjects such as geography, English and religious education.

Bradley said: "Last year, meeting such great people, being part of an amazing culture and sharing incredible experiences gave me a passion for travel.

"Visiting Purkal Youth Development Society I saw the complexities of other children's lives and I felt it would be a great opportunity to be involved with them yet again, in terms of their education and as a friend.

"Hopefully it will be another rewarding experience."

As well as contributing to the school he will also be helping out in the community by assisting a tree planting project and keeping the area clean by picking up litter and any unsafe items that could cause harm.

After the two weeks Bradley will then backpack around India visiting places such as the Golden Temple in the city of Amritsar, Corbett National Park and the glacial region near Landakh - the land of high passes.

With the teaching, trekking and backpacking likely to be exhausting, Bradley has also booked himself on to a 10-day meditation course.

Bradley is studying geography, geology, biology and chemistry and is hoping to go to university after leaving St Mary’s to study environmental science or conservation.