THE sights, sounds and flavours of Kolkata's back streets came to Loreto Grammar for a vibrant fundraiser for the Altrincham school's passage to India.

Since 1995, every two years Loreto has sent a party of students and teachers to their sister schools in Kolkata to witness back street life in the sprawling Indian metropolis.

While there, the pupils work on behalf of the Loreto Mission's Rainbow Project which supports children whose families eke out a living on the streets.

Each of the students will fund their own fare with the girls encouraged to take up part time jobs to pay their share, while all monies raised from the fundraising teams goes to the Rainbow project.

The event saw the girls give some memorable Indian style performances, a banquet prepared by Coriander Catering and a raffle including a signed shirt kindly donated by Manchester United.

There was also a speech by Maddie Barnes who was among the first party of Loreto girls to go to India and ended up returning to help for seven months so strong had been the experience.

Sixth form student Georgia Brooks, 17, said: “I am really looking forward to seeing another culture, but I am also trying to prepare myself for the shock of the poverty which is something on a scale we simply don't see see in West.”

The Rainbow Project was established by Sister Cyril Mooney who had worked alongside Mother Teresa for many years and was known for riding a motor cycle through the city street's dressed in her nun's habit and whose work has supported over 450,000 children.

Sister Cyril, whom the Loreto girls hope to meet, and who is a winner of India's highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, said of her own first experience: “What hit me so strongly was that we were inside a compound and we knew nothing about the poverty outside.We had all of our schools and they were nicely run but we didn’t pursue any of these situations of poverty that we saw.”

So Sister Cyril took action, mixing rich with poor and helping children who would otherwise not have got a decent education.

She said: “I didn’t say: 'We’ll be bringing poorer children in', I just brought them in.”

Loreto Grammar School'a head of sixth form, Helen Jordan, said: “Over two decades our trip to Kolkata has had a life changing influence on many Loreto girls showing how difficult life can be in other cultures but also giving the example of dedicated, community service which makes a difference to so many.”