GIRLS from Wycombe High School have returned to Vietnam for the first time since the summer of 2001, when 17-year-old Amy Ransom fell to her death on a mountain path during a similar visit.

The trip is being organised by the World Challenge Expeditions, which ran the 2001 expedition, and the 49 girls will be doing community work and trekking.

Some will be working in the Village St Hope Orphanage, where Amy and her friends also worked and painted murals.

Amy's parents, Derek and Claire Ransom, established a fund in her name after her death. They have visited Vietnam and arranged for money from the fund to be used in the country to help children.

Wycombe High School headteacher Jane Wainwright said the girls would be using some of the Amy Ransom money in their community work and that Mr and Mrs Ransom were delighted they were going back to where Amy and her friends worked.

"We are very pleased the girls are going back, even though the previous expedition raises sad memories," she said.

She said the girls had done a tremendous amount of preparation and fundraising for this visit.

She added that the school was following safety guidelines laid down by the county council and World Challenge Expeditions was hugely experienced.