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, was 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, from 28 June to 13 July, saw the EC student contingent undertaking the Annapurna mountain trail.

For Benjamin, who, in addition to family sponsorships, was also sponsored by Lloyds Brokers James Hampden Insurance and by NASCO Karaoglan (Dubai), the expedition will also serve as the qualifying expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.