Four teams of students from Marlwood School completed the tough Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor, returning home with a clutch of medals.

Pupils from the school in Alveston, near Thornbury, regularly take part in the gruelling walk, and this year 24 youngsters were enrolled, tackling routes that ranged between 35 and 55 miles in length.

They were among more than 2,000 young people from schools, youth organisations and service cadets in the South West who were involved in the two-day trek, which is organised by the army and involves months of preparation and fitness training by those taking part.

All the Marlwood walkers got home safely, winning one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

The youngest walkers, aged 14 and 15, are restricted to the 35-mile route, with the longest distance only tackled by those aged between 17 and 19.

Year 10 pupil Sophie Hooper, 15, said: "Our first day of walking lasted for nearly 13 hours.

"The next morning we were up at 4.45am to start walking at 6am and that was a much harder day."

She said there were plenty of highs and lows throughout the weekend, from reaching the tops of the tors to falling into bogs.

"Nothing could beat the sense of achievement when we could finally see the finish line," she said. "It was great to have everyone clap and cheer us on as we walked the final stretch and everyone felt very proud at what they had achieved."

Students from Wyvern Community School in Weston-super-Mare also completed the gruelling challenge.

Six year 10 students took part.

Wyvern outdoor pursuits teacher Chris Sainsbury said: "All of us involved in the training along with the whole school are extremely proud of our team for putting on such a great performance.

Overall, 2,400 students from the South West took part in the challenge.

The first Ten Tors Challenge took place in September 1960, with around 200 young people taking part.

By 1980 the numbers had grown to more than 2,600 but to protect the environment the numbers are now limited to 2,400 individuals, 400 teams of six teenagers.