SIXTEEN pupils from Malvern Girls' College returned from Gambia this week.

The girls went to the African nation to teach, decorate classrooms and a nursery and help start building a banana plantation.

A particular highlight of the trip was a visit to a new well in Duntamalang, which was built using money raised by the college to provide clean water.

Staff member Vicky Collett said: "It was incredible to see all the villagers run down the hill to meet our little boat as it crept up the creek and to appreciate the difference clean drinking water has made to this small community."

There were some "interesting" moments for the girls, with one finding a claw in bowl of rice and another a chicken's head complete with beak! Another group had to remove beehives and hundreds of ants before they could begin to paint a classroom wall.

Sixteen-year-old Antonia Balsom said: "It's been a truly incredible and invaluable experience for everyone. To be able to see first hand what our money has been spent on was incredible. The thanks received were quite overwhelming at times and hard to appreciate how much the little we do means to them."

Plans are now being made for the next trip in 2005, which will be funded from the triennial Charity Weekend in October.