A group of teenagers who have been excluded from school for misbehaving have proved they have plenty to offer.

The 15 youngsters from across Oxfordshire have recently returned from a trip to Bulgaria, where they worked at an orphanage with children who might otherwise face a life of begging, prostitution or crime.

The students, who are aged 15 and 16, follow an alternative curriculum with educational group Frontiers, which led the trip.

Frontiers spokesman James Schumann said it proved to be "quite an adventure" for both the orphans and the students.

He said: "The orphans gained a great deal from the trip and our students did too - the changes have been dramatic.

"Lots of them had never left England before, so it was amazing for them to see other cultures and to see people worse off than themselves. It put things in perspective for them and they seem to have much greater confidence, empathy and understanding now.

"I think because our kids are more troubled themselves, they bonded better with the orphans than other groups have done in the past."

Mr Schumann said the students taught the orphans the skills they have been learning, such as fire-making, shelter-building and survival skills.

He said: "They also carried out building, painting and renovation work on the orphanage and formed emotional bonds with the orphans."

However, the trip was not without its problems. When the group first arrived at the orphanage, its director told them they would not be allowed to work there, despite plans already being agreed.

Mr Schumann said: "The director initially would not allow us on site at all. But after many meetings with local officials, we were allowed access and, after seeing the work we were doing with the orphans, the director changed her attitude so that in the end she was very happy with us and asked us to come back again. That was a huge turnaround."

He added: "A number of Western groups visit the orphanage briefly and do not return, hence the director's initial lack of co-operation, but our group will be making regular trips to the orphanage as part of a long-term programme to help the orphans become more self-sufficient."

Similar expeditions are planned for later this summer and beyond, particularly after Frontiers bought a house in Bulgaria which will be used as a base.