EIGHTEEN students from Fordingbridge and Ringwood experienced trips of a lifetime.

The trips were part of the Lions Youth Camp and Exchange Programme.

All of the students were selected by Ringwood and Fordingbridge Lions Club to become this year’s international ambassadors and representatives at international youth camps organised by Lions clubs around the world.

This year’s international ambassadors from Burgate School were Yuanmin Zhu, Miles Davy, Aaron Parker, Nian Jing Zhu, Karolina Vahulya, Joseph Roou, Finlay Bowrey. The international ambassadors representing Ringwood School were Charlotte Thornton, Freya Kelly, Holly Ryan, Mia Johnson, Rhys Johnson, and Sophie Smith.

The students travelled to destinations including Australia, Switzerland, the United States of America, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Verity Sarel, Jack Cheshire, Janina Gleed, and Charlie Holbrook represented Ringwood at International Lions Camps in Germany, Norway, and Japan.

Finlay Bowrey, from Ringwood who travelled to Australia with the Lions scheme, said: “I have had a unique and life changing experience and hopefully have made some lifelong friendships and with any luck I will have the opportunity to visit Australia again.

“All in all I have made a lifetime of memories and I would thoroughly recommend like-minded young people to take up the opportunity to do the exchange”.

Verity Sarel, from Ringwood, went to the 37th Japan International Youth Camp in Osaka, Wakayama and Hiroshima this summer. She said: “It was an amazing trip and I feel super lucky to have had such a unique life experience- the people were so kind and generous, I felt like royalty.”

Ringwood and Fordingbridge Lions Club is accepting applications for the scheme from anyone aged between 16–21. For more information go to randflions.org.uk