Five year 10 students from Toronto High School are being hailed for completing the 240-kilometre-long Great North Walk, from Sydney to Newcastle, to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute.

Skye-Ann Anderson, Toby Adams, Kayleb Bennett, Lochlan Maher and Coby Howarth trekked up and down mountains for a fortnight, from Sydney’s Circular Quay to Queens Wharf, in Newcastle.

Fellow student, Caleb Watts - who had intended to complete the journey - broke his ankle in the lead-up to the walk, so took on a supporting role but joined his friends for the final part of their trek into Newcastle.

The students said male depression had been the catalyst for their walk.

“A few of us know people affected by depression,” Coby said.

“Men just don’t talk about it enough. We wanted to not just raise money, but awareness about the issue.”

But what started out at the beginning of the year as idle chat about a vague idea to “do something” for the cause, soon became a very focussed and serious match plan.

“In April this year, it was a case of ‘let’s do this!’, Caleb said.

“Then in the next few months we got the plans together.”

The students collaborated to work out the logisitics, route and camp sites, as well as coordinating their parental support crews (who drove in food and other supplies along the walk) and organising approval from the Black Dog Institute to raise money on their behalf.

The students then set about promoting the walk online, through posters at school and around Toronto, and through a fund-raising barbecue at Rathmines.

With the preparation all sorted, all that remained was the matter of the 240-kilometre walk.

Deputy principal Evelyn Wilson-Babic said what the students achieved was more than an impressive physical feat.

“The skills of cooperation and collaboration that the students demonstrated far exceeded those normally gained within the classroom walls,” she said.

The students revealed a bushfire in the Watagan Mountains proved a concern and forced them to change their route. There were also blisters and abrasions to contend with, while Lochlan was forced to seek medical attention for a day when he experienced a painful achilles problem.

They encountered snakes and a monitor lizard they estimate was more than two metres long. But it was the scenery from the highest escarpments that they’ll never forget.

“The view was just the most beautiful thing you could see,” Lochlan said.