A FRESH school year is traditionally a time of crisp new stationery, PE kit with too much ‘growing room’ and grouchy children reluctantly returning their stuffy classrooms and strictly marshalled free time.

At least, that’s how it is over here.

In some other countries, the start of the school year is a time for celebration and the realisation of bright dreams for the future.

Spring 2011 marks the start of the second academic year at the Grace Secondary School in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Largely funded by the people of Dorset, the academy offers its 120 students, boys and girls, Christian and Muslim, the chance of a better future or, in many cases, a future – full stop.

Many of the pupils are of university age and above, their original education having been curtailed by Sudan’s long and bloody civil war. They are not allowed to join a secondary school without completing their primary education, so it is not uncommon to see adults sitting in class alongside children as they work to make up for lost academic years.

The school opened two years ago thanks to the determination of Dorchester couple Claire and Richard Budd. They got involved after Richard, a professional photographer, accompanied the then Bishop of Sherborne, Tim Thornton, to Sudan to report on the Salisbury Diocese’s links with the African country.

The tales of deprivation and despair he returned with moved Claire to anger and tears and between them they set up a project to raise funds for a new school in the area, which is one of the most remote places in the Sudan and takes four days to reach.

Now the school is a thriving concern and a cause of great pride among the local population. It is a boarding school and many of the students travel for days to get there.

Strong links have been established between Grace and schools and church communities in the Dorchester area and the Budds hold an annual Christmas ball at Kingston Maurward to raise further funds.

Claire, a former reporter with the BBC, said: “The people in Sudan have said that in the future they want to build their own school, which was really nice to hear. They want to go on to be teachers and doctors – one lad even said he wanted to be the president. It is wonderful to hear that they have such hope for the future – and they believe that education is their key to a good future.

“For them, it is a huge privilege to be at school. When pupils at St Osmond’s School in Dorchester sent them good luck messages, the students at Grace replied back that they hoped the Dorchester children would make the most of their education. It is so important to them.”

She added: “Some of the pupils travel for four days to get to school.

“When Richard went there from Khartoum, the capital, it took 17 hours on a bus then a further four hours the next day.

“The school was a huge talking point for the population and its opening was like the Olympic games, with people travelling from all over the place to be there. We knew they were proud to have the school, but until we saw the film of the opening, we didn’t realise exactly how pleased. It made us realise exactly what we had achieved. And people have helped us so much.”

A minimum of £35,000 needs to be raised every year for Grace, to pay for staff salaries, food and maintenance. In this country, Claire and Richard have established the charity Key to the Future to help get the funds while most of the practical work takes place in the Sudan at grassroots level.

One of the main players is the local Bishop Andudu who has been working for the school and dealing with local government, which is a part of the ruling National Congress Party.

“The bishop is a good person to oversee it on the ground and he is very passionate about the school,” said Claire.

“They have already had the food delivered for the coming year because he managed to negotiate with the government. When we started we put in a bid to the UN World Food programme and they decided that they would not supply us with food, so if it wasn’t for the bishop we would have been left high and dry.”

This is a time of immense political upheaval in Sudan. In recent weeks the people in the southern part of the country voted to split from the north and make their own nation, which will come into being in July.

Grace is in South Kordofan, an area that supported the South in the civil war but was left out of the referendum as part of the peace agreement signed in 2005. South Kordofan is an oil rich area and that’s why the Sudanese government wanted to keep hold of it. Bishop Andudu believes this will put the school in a better position as he thinks more money will be available for its running because the governor will have more revenue from the oil.

“The school is a mix of Muslims and Christians, boys and girls and we hope that by bringing them together it will be one small step in making the country more politically stable in the future,” said Claire.

“It is also nice for them to know that there are people out there in the wider world who care about them having the opportunity learn. They are so keen to work hard and make the best of their lives. From the feedback we have received, it is very clear that they have a real sense of being given a valuable chance and they don’t want to mess that up.”

Key to the Future is bringing in money and now the Budds are urging people to become Friends of Grace to keep the funds flowing in.

“If everyone gave £5 a month – that’s just a couple of cups of coffee in town – we could do so much,” said Claire.

“People have already been so generous and every penny donated goes straight to the school, we don’t take anything out. Local churches in and around Dorchester are always helping us out too – a Lent lunch here or cake sale there.

“The people out at Grace also want to see the school succeed. When the parents and students found out they might not have any food, they went out and bought some maize, found land and planted it themselves. That’s how determined and dedicated they are to make the school a success. It is very humbling.”

• For further details visit gracesecondaryschool.com or email claire@gracesecondary school.com or richard@grace secondaryschool.com