40 Year 8 & 9 students were accompanied by Mr Davis, Mr Van Os, Mr Wells, Mrs Mills and Mrs Hendry for a week-long ski trip to Austria. Students were well organised and the trip set off in good time to catch the ferry from Dover to Calais on Friday 4^th April.

The ferry crossing was like a mill pond and it felt like we were the only group onboard as we were treated to fish and chips in the main restaurant. After some food, students headed straight for the arcade where they spent the remainder of the crossing.

Several hours and a few toilet stops later, we arrived in our resort at around 11am Saturday morning.

The hotel was ready and waiting for us, students were settled into their rooms and then the group commenced ski fit. Once everyone was kitted out we spent the remainder of the day exploring the hotels sports facilities, grabbing some lunch and relaxing in the sunshine.

Soon enough the temptation for staff to get involved in the football match was too much. It was an epic battle on the 5-a-side pitch, and it looked as if the students would get the better of the staff. Unfortunately for the students, the fairytale ending never came and a miraculous comeback saw the staff score their final goal claiming a 5-4 win before the dinner bell rang. Attempts by students to schedule a rematch were unsuccessful and staff basked in their success for the next few days.

More seriously, that evening, students got their ski clothing ready and had an early night ready to hit the pistes the next morning.

Weather conditions were kind to us and we had great conditions for skiing. The beginners hit the practice slopes, whilst the more experienced skiers explored the mountain. After a long and active day skiing everyone was tired. A short rest back at the hotel, some food and we were ready to go swimming. Students loved the various flumes, diving boards, climbing wall and the wave pool at the swimming centre. A particular favourite was the vertical drop slide where the floor drops out and you shoot straight down into the darkness. 

The following day, the beginner slopes were much busier with more school groups having arrived. The beginners really pushed hard in the morning, meaning that by the afternoon they were able to take the chair lift to the top. Whilst the skiing further up was more demanding, they handled it well and it was amazing to see them get that thrill of gliding down groomed pistes.

The more experienced groups were busy exploring the wider local area that was interlinked by 2 panoramic gondolas.

The intermediate group were perfecting their parallel turns and starting to carve tracks on red slopes.

For the next few days, the 2 more experienced groups both went on ski tours across the mountain range to the surrounding resorts or Flachau-winkel, Zauchansee, Kleinarl and Wagrain. They often skied from the top lift to the bottom in one complete run without stopping. The students loved this, as it allowed for some really progressive skiing, however I'm not sure the staff members' legs and knees enjoyed it too much.

On Tuesday we celebrated the birthdays of both TJ and Mr Wells. As a salute to the special day, we formed a guard of honour at the bottom of the slopes and sang happy birthday to them as they skied through the gap. The snowballs thrown at them at the same time were well received by both, TJ expertly avoiding most and Mr Wells falling at the worst opportunity, so more snow was piled over him.

The evening entertainment was excellent. We flew down an alpine rollercoaster, played Austrian skittles (well done to the 6'rs for winning), and watched a very entertaining ice hockey match in Zell am Zee - I am still not entirely sure how the group managed to come away from the game with several ice hockey sticks and pucks given to them by the players.

On the last day we hit the slopes in perfect conditions - it was colder and the pistes remained in great condition all day. After wishing our instructors a fond farewell we returned our equipment and prepared for the journey home.

After another smooth channel crossing we were greeted back at the school by parents excited to hear all about their child's adventure.

We hope that all students enjoyed the experience, and I would like to personally thank each student for being a tremendous ambassador for the school (I received several comments from strangers about their superb behaviour).

 

In addition, the trip does not happen without a fantastic team of staff willing to give up their own time off to supervise the trip. I would like to extend a huge thank you to Mr Van Os, Mrs Mills, Mr Wells and Mrs Hendry, without them the trip would not have been the success that it was.

 

We hope that we can recreate this special experience again for our next ski trip.

 

Mr R Davis - Head of STEM / KS3 Science / Trips & Visits Co-ordinator