Mother of four Carol Smith will be taking to mountains more than 10,000ft high on a trek to raise money for a school for children with special needs in Witney.

Mrs Smith's youngest child, Kit, three, was born with a medical condition that has, among other problems, impaired his growth and curved his spine.

Carol and Kit with, from left, Lela, Ceri, Christopher and Jake

He is a pupil at Springfield School for children with a range of physical learning difficulties. The school recently launched an appeal to raise money to build a hydrotherapy pool.

Mrs Smith, who lives on the Deer Park estate, Witney, will be taking part in an eight-day trek in the Andes. The trek will include hiking along mountain ridges and will culminate in an overnight climb to the summit of Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world.

While she is away, Kit's father, Chris Goddard, will be in charge at home - looking after her other three children, Ceri, 15, Lela, 13, and Jake, ten.

Mrs Smith said: "At three, Kit, although lively, bright and curious, can neither sit nor stand unaided, yet he loves being in the water and is close to being able to swim.

"Before Kit started at the nursery at Springfield he was very unhappy and his daily struggle to survive left him fractious, withdrawn and sad.

"The excellent staff and learning methods at Springfield have helped him to become a bright, inquisitive, happy little boy."

Mrs Smith is looking for sponsorship for the trek and has started a training programme to get fit.