OVER 100 secondary school students from Singapore and South Korea got down and dirty on Thursday to do their bit for the environment - and got to know each other better as they cleaned up the beach.

The pupils, from Ngee Ann Secondary School and Incheon International High School, spent a sweltering morning cleaning up Changi Beach.

They worked in groups, picking up plastic bottles, metal cans, and even cigarette butts buried under the sand.

The 91 students and 10 staff members from South Korea are here as part of a twinning programme with Ngee Ann Secondary.

And they went away with more than a better appreciation of environmental protection - the visiting group had a chance to bond with the local students and learned more about each other's cultures.

Jinsol Jung, 17, from Incheon International, called the experience 'meaningful' and said she made new friends.

She was particularly impressed when she saw Chinese, Indian and Malay students working and studying together.

'So many different races working and living together in harmony in Singapore, especially with all the racial conflicts happening around the world, is really interesting.'

Secondary 2 student Martin Teo, who had never met a Korean before the exchange, gushed, 'Most Korean girls are really pretty'.