Youngsters who have been excluded from school for misbehaving are getting a chance to turn their lives around.

A 15-strong group of teenagers from across Oxfordshire are to lead an expedition to Bulgaria to work at an orphanage with children who might otherwise face a life of begging, prostitution or crime.

The students, who follow an alternative curriculum with educational group Frontiers, are due to travel to the eastern European country in May, but before they do that they must raise vital funds.

They are staging a fundraising gig at East Oxford Community Centre on Saturday, March 31, at 7pm. Acts due to perform include punk folk cabaret act Inflatable Buddha, local singer-songwriter Matt Sage and new wave soul band The Conscripts.

Frontiers spokesman James Schumann said: "The idea is that the trip will help not only the children in Bulgaria but our students too. They will pass on the philosophy of self-sufficiency and self-reliance to the orphanage while helping them to set up their own co-operative."

Joe Thorp, one of the students involved, said: "We are responsible for making this trip happen and have been involved in all the planning and preparation.

"We hope to become more mature by trying new things. This trip will give us the chance to do something we feel proud of."

Mr Schumann said the students were hoping to raise about £1,500 through the concert and needed a total of £10,000 for the trip.

He said: "The money raised will be used to cover transport costs and equipment needed as well as money to allow the children to take the orphans out on trips."

The youngsters, aged 15 and 16, are due to go on the trip accompanied by five members of staff.

Mr Schumann added: "These students are disengaged young people who have had negative experiences at school, such as bullying or being bullied, truanting and disrupting classes.

"We believe trips like this will help build their self esteem and confidence.

"The schools send them to us three days a week to follow an alternative curriculum where we emphasise environmental education and relationships with others."

The remaining two days a week are either spent at school or on a work experience placement.

The group has already carried out an exploratory trip to Bulgaria, where students Max Butler and Shane Dix met some of the children they would be helping.

Jon Berry, director of Frontiers, said: "Our skills-based teaching enables students to support themselves and we want to apply the same approach in Bulgaria. Rather than giving a handout, our students will teach the orphans ways to become self-sufficient and gain a better future."

Tickets for the concert are £6, £5 concessions, and will only be available on the door. There will also be a bar, food and DJs.