A STUDENT has set up a campaign to help her friends in Zimbabwe receive the kind of "privileged" education she enjoys in Uttoxeter.

Esther Chirimangombe, who grew up in the poverty-stricken African country, enrolled at Thomas Alleyne's sixth form earlier this year.

Now she has launched The Russ Project in aid of her former classmates at the Rusununguko Secondary School, in the village of Bromley, near capital city Harare.

The 18-year-old said: "Ironically, Rusununguko means freedom – ironic because the children there have not been freed from the claws of hunger, disease, want and fear.

"Some walk 10km every day to get to school, often not wearing any shoes, and the majority use a single exercise book for all their subjects. They have to write very small in the hope the pages don't run out before the end of term.

"We want to use money raised in The Russ Project to pay for text books, computers and stationery that we take for granted in Uttoxeter."

The Dove Bank school has already collected more than £1,000 for the cause through a non-uniform day it held on November 4.

And next Friday, 20 acts will take to the stage in The R-Factor, Thomas Alleyne's own fund-raising talent show.

Esther, whose 14-year-old brother Tamuvingaishe also goes to the school, said: "Everyone has been very supportive.

"I stood up in front of an assembly to tell everyone my idea and I was amazed at the response from teachers and students.

"We are so lucky to be able to able to go to the cinema or on the internet, while parents in Zimbabwe are forced to sell livestock to afford education for their children."

Esther first came to England in 1999, but left temporarily in 2006 to complete her GCSEs back in Zimbabwe and studied for three months at Rusununguko.

She is currently studying A-levels and wants to go back to East Africa, after gaining a degree, and work for the United Nations.

She said: "I want to get involved in international relations and help as many people as I can."

Her father, David, of Shipton Drive, Uttoxeter, was a high school teacher in Zimbabwe before moving to England as a nurse.

The 48-year-old said: "I could see 10 years ago that my country was about to change and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I would love to go back as a family, but I couldn't even imagine the prospect at the moment. Things need to improve drastically.

"I am so proud of Esther. I would not be able to sleep easily if she worked in Zimbabwe."

Every level of the school is planning to be involved in The Russ Project, from parents buying raffle tickets to year nine pupils selling cakes.

Year 12 student Elliot Bell is busy preparing a routine for next week's talent show.

The 16-year-old said: "Everyone has chipped in to support the idea. Auditions have gone really well and we are all looking forward to a great event."