AN intrepid Droitwich teenager is jetting off to Nepal for a 2002 challenge of a lifetime.

Ruth Carley will kick off her globetrotting this Thursday, January 3.

She is travelling to the mountainous country to teach English as a foreign language.

The 18-year-old scored five top A-level grades at Droitwich High School in the summer.

She will now head classes of her own to more than 50 children at Chitwar National Park.

Ruth will be travelling among 25 British students and, together with another teenager, she will live with a Nepalese family.

The project has been funded by money bequeathed to Ruth by her grandfather.

"I wanted to use this money for something memorable and worthwhile," said Ruth, who lives in Westbury Avenue, Chawson.

Ruth will complete the teaching placement, which has been organised by GAP Activity Projects, in May.

She then plans to spend a month travelling around Nepal and India.

When she returns home she is hoping to study natural sciences at Cambridge University.