Students returns to old school

A 20-year-old student went back to his old school to thank pupils for a collection of football shirts he took with him on a three month teaching trip in Zambia.
Hamish Brown, of Lymm, was given the 80 shirts by pupils at Altrincham Preparatory School before he went on the trip to the historic town of Livingstone to teach in a settlement in sight of the Victoria Falls.
He said: “It wasn’t easy to fit them all under my 20kg weight allocation. I just had to leave out some of my own clothes.”
Hamish is now studying history at Newcastle University went back to school to address two assemblies, gripping the youngsters’ attention with details of a lifestyle completely alien to those growing up in suburban Cheshire.
“I don¹t think they could believe that in a school of 300 boys, a private school as well, that only one child had a television set and that many would have to get up at 5am to walk to school.”
Hamish took Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and England shirts on his trip – and found the United shirts were most popular in Zambia.
But any shirt would have done – the African youngsters had never been given soccer kits before.
“The children were just so happy and grateful and full of fun all the time.
They never complained, but just got on with life and their schooling.
“When people found out I was of Scottish descent I was continually compared to the town’s most famous forebear David Livingstone.
“His work as a missionary certainly bore fruit because I didn¹t meet anyone who didn¹t go to Church, often twice on Sunday.”
Hamish is pictured with APS boys Henry Cox (10) and Tom Makin (10).