During the Christmas holidays, 39 pupils and five members of staff travelled to Flaine, in the French Alps, to take in a week of skiing. Mr Diez-Urkidi, who organised the trip, has provided the report below.
“I selected Flaine for this trip because it is a high resort and most prone to snow early in the season. We were rewarded with great snow cover and very few other skiers.
Going abroad for a whole week and taking 39 students is always a challenge, particularly while skiing. We came back home with a smile on our faces, much improved skiers and no injuries.
The boys enjoyed plenty of snow, four brilliant sunny days, no queues at the ski lifts and almost the whole resort to themselves. On our last day, we experienced a bit of stormy weather. Some of the boys were not up to it, although the majority continued skiing like nothing was happening with the weather; it was great to see them skiing in hard conditions, proving that they had gained great confidence during the week. These conditions, and the lack of other skiers, also offered us the opportunity to watch wildlife on the side of the mountain, only a few hundred meters away. Several alpine mountain goats were finding something to eat under the snow.
Our hostel was perfectly located 100 meters away from the main lift. Every morning and afternoon, we could start skiing from one of the highest points in the resort. Our ski instructors were French fully qualified ESF instructors, so they determined the level of the boys and gave some diplomas and official acknowledgements on the last day.
Coming back to the Hostel was always a treat. It was very well organised for the equipment and even had a boot dryer/heater. We had the chance of drinking a "chocolat-chaud” to warm up and have a rest before dinner.
The last two evenings were an opportunity for the boys to socialise and for those studying French, it was great to see them trying to converse with the French students.
The boys were excellent ambassadors for Shiplake.
I hope that this is the first of many more ski trips to come. After all the comments received and smiley faces seen, I can certainly say that the trip was a huge success."
