A GROUP of youngsters conquered the highest mountain in Wales to raise money for a children’s cancer charity.

Teenagers from the YMCA Community School, in Southend, took on the challenge of climbing Mount Snowdon on a cold, wet and windy day to fundraise for CLIC Sargent, The 21 youths, aged between 14 and 16, all made it to the top of the 3,560ft mountain and have so far raised £340.

Ally Gavin, a teacher at the school, led the trip and said he was extremely proud of everyone who achieved the feat.

The group left the school at 3am and were away for 23 hours.

The walk itself took 7 hours to get up the mountain and back down.

Mr Gavin said: “The weather was shocking. There was wind and rain. It was certainly a challenge.

“They all did well. We wanted to make it something special.

“It was a painful challenge, but afterwards there was a real buzz.

“The group all made it, even though some started to appreciate the difficulty of the task after just five minutes.”

CLIC Sargent had supported one of the school’s pupils whose sister had lost her battle with a brain tumour.

If anybody would still like to sponsor the group, they can do so at www.justgiving.com/ YMCA-Community-School- Southend