A group of around 20 students from the English College, Dubai, set out on a 15-day expedition in the Himalayas in aid of a children's orphanage in Kathmandu. Among them was Benjamin Portelli, a Maltese student at the school in Dubai.
The English College, a British curriculum private school based in Dubai, were the first UAE-based school to lead a student expedition up to Everest Base Camp a few years ago, adopting the Kathmandu orphanage as their worthy cause.
This year's challenge saw the EC student contingent undertaking the Annapurna mountain trail. For Mr Portelli the expedition will also serve as the qualifying expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.