A PREP school teacher has become top of the class after finally reaching the North Pole in an epic trip.

Diabetic James Abbot described his gruelling 320-mile ski race to the North Pole as the toughest, most challenging, but most rewarding experience of his life.

Mr Abbot, a design and technology teacher at Abberley Hall Prep School, Great Witley, and his sole remaining team mate, Stuart Nanson, reached the Magnetic North Pole on Friday, after fending off flu, freezing temperatures, and broken kit.

On Thursday - their final full day of a race which started on Saturday, April 23 - the conditions and the landscape were perfect for arctic skiing, said the 29-year-old outdoor enthusiast, who trained for the event by pulling old tyres around the Malvern Hills.

While he toiled with his sled on the penultimate day, his colleagues at school were in a test of their own - an Ofsted inspection.

On the team's web diary, he said he wished they were having fun without him.

When the Scott-Dunn Polar Challenge began on St George's day, Mr Abbot's team - also called Scott-Dunn - was three strong, but their female co-racer, Zu Rafalat had to pull out because of flu.

As well as enduring the gruelling conditions, the team had to repair a broken tent pole and the fuel pump on their cooker.

The electronic GPS system they used for navigation also broke beyond repair.

The battling duo finished in 12th place.

They finished behind an all female British team, the Pink Lady Polecats - Sam Eve and Felicity Aston from southern England and Tori James from Wales.