Stranded Amersham pupils nominated for finals of competition

They had to raise the £3,795 cost themselves which they did by sponsored runs, bag-packing at supermarkets, car washes, school dances and raffles.
The visited the capital Lima, Paracas on the coast, then to Arequipa in the Andes to acclimatise and get used to the altitude, before they went to the Cotahausi canyon, the deepest in the world.
There they painted the boundary wall of a primary school that was peeling and a friendship tree mosaic and were hoping to complete more but were unable due to fears about swine flu.
The party was heading for Lake Titicaca, the highest in the world, before going on the Inca trail leading to the World Heritage Site and tourist attraction of Machu Picchu, the lost city.
As they ascended the road on a local bus snow blocked their way. When the journey was able to continue the bus skidded and lodged. They all got off and transferred to another bus, where they had to spend the night.
Katherine, who was still receiving from an operation to remove her appendix was taken ill with altitude sickness. Her temperature dropped, her resting heart rate rose.
Mr Court said: "She was in a bad way and if her condition continued to deteriorate it could have been possibly fatal."
She stabilised and next day as the weather eased the bus continued on its way but she was taken ill again and had to be evacuated.
Mr Court said: "It was a terrifying experience, the serious nature of which became clear with increased visibility and people could see the danger of the mountainside, as beautiful as it was.
"But the pupils supported each other by keeping spirits high. Several were sick because of the altitude and the others helped and comforted them.
"All the pupils demonstrated bravery and courage at a difficult and frightening time. I was hugely proud of them. Amazingly, when we got back down the mountain the pupils just carried on as if nothing had happened."
Katherine, of The Lawns, Penn, who had never been away from home before, said: "I can remember everybody trying to comfort me and keep my spirits up. That helped me a lot to recover and I'm very grateful.
"The trip was the best. I would definitely do it again but, hopefully, without the altitude sickness."
Lucy, 17 of Blackhouse Crescent, Amersham, said the incident was frightening. She said: "When we were on the second bus and Katherine became bad, Frank gave my sleeping bag to Katherine. I slept close next to her offering her words of comfort. The next morning I noticed that her breathing was not good and called the teachers.
"It was one of the most scary things in my life but I know I had to try to keep Katherine's spirits up. We all tried to keep others' minds off what was happening."
The pupils have been invited to Pinewood Studios next Tuesday to hear whether they have won a prize - the top prize being £1,000 sponsored by Bucks businesses.