On 29 May 1953, Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Tenzing Norgay Sherpa became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The British expedition made the two men famous the world over and changed mountaineering forever. Today, hundreds of people climb the 8,849-metre peak every year, fuelling concerns about overcrowding and pollution on the mountain. Sir Edmund Hillary opened Khumjung Secondary School, the first school in the region, in 1961, some ten kilometres from Everest Base Camp. Today, 70 years later, the school's pupils are preparing for the anniversary celebrations. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES