A former teacher at Felsted Prep School, who now volunteers at a charity school in Sierra Leone, has raised £600 for the school by offering her friends a charity supper.

The school houses a lot of the children orphaned by Ebola, who sleep as well as study there.

Caroline Scott-Bowden and her daughter Isobel, 15, hosted the supper giving everyone a ticket. Some people were served chilli, others a soup but everyone had wine and dessert.

Caroline, raised the money for EducAid, a charity which runs schools in poor villages in the African country.

She said: “EducAid is a British charity doing an incredible job in Sierra Leone. Seeing it first hand was an eye opening experience, not just the poverty but more positively, the overwhelming enthusiasm shown by students from as little as four years old to succeed at school.

“With an end of module exam every two weeks where, if a student achieves over 70 per cent, they will move up to the next class. Dedicated teachers face the prospect of teaching new students every two weeks, having different aged children in their classes and having a very large marking pile.

“In this system, the higher achieving students will progress at a faster pace through the school. It’s a very clever concept. I witnessed over 150 students studying independently in one room with teachers on standby if needed.

“Every child was on task because each one wants to succeed. The system works well and this method of teaching produces 100 per cent pass rates in the West African exams. EducAid’s vision is to eliminate poverty in Sierra Leonne by educating students about their personal, social and economic well-being.”

The next fundraiser for EducAid is a sponsored circular cycle ride on July 2, starting at Colchester Castle. The routes are 25km, 50km or 75km through Suffolk before finishing back at the castle.

Cyclist must raise £250 in sponsorship to take part and should register at www.educaid.org.uk.