It would be remiss of us not to start the review of the ski trip without first acknowledging the avalanche and French ski patroller who lost his life while helping others. These type of events on piste are almost unheard of and the whole of the Alpine region was left reeling in shock. However, the resort quickly reviewed the situation, closing certain areas and ensuring that we were safe for the rest of the week.

After setting off from Vanbrugh Park at 4.45am we made good progress on coach, plane and coach to be in the resort by early to mid Friday afternoon. We quite quickly got fitted with skis and boots ready to go first thing on Saturday.

The first morning is always a bit chaotic, with many new skiers arriving in resort and the new groups taking a while to organise.  However, the weather was glorious and everyone was up and running (or skiing and falling) well before noon. In the total beginner group were Christiana, Cleo, Malaiya, Amel, Anjy, Ayzia, Denise, Isobella G, Kristina, Laila, Rebecca, Renee and Sophia.  A large group to start, but one that Jonathan the instructor relished and enjoyed teaching. First steps were getting on the “magic carpet” and mastering the snow plough.

Those that had skied before consisted of Anouk, Amelia, Caoimhe, Isobella JR, Jessica, Martha, Maddie, Natasha and Sofija and were spread across a few different groups who immediately went up on the lifts and got going on the really good quality snow.

Come the end of the day the absolute beginners had begun to realise how physical the activity is and were up for refuelling on the plentiful and decent quality food and getting into bed nice and early. 

As the week went on we began to see some real progress from all of the students and any minor injuries or traumas (special award to Rebecca for fielding all of our bad luck for a couple of days) were soon forgotten. What with tales of Amel careering down the slope out of control, Ayzia leading the snake of beginners down the mountain, Laila as determined a new skier as we have ever seen, feisty Denise telling the boys on the bus to “keep it down a bit!” and Christiana roaring with laughter whenever she crashed - all were having a great time. Plus there was the dynamic duo of Jessica and Natasha who seemed to do most of their insane rituals wearing only one ski. It did seem to work though; they were great on the slopes.

Most of us looked forward to relaxing in the evenings and the thought of doing anything at all seemed beyond us, however, the activities provided were fun, engaging and encouraged bonding between the students. There was a disco, badminton and tennis night, torch-lit walk around the mountain, chocolate party, film night (featuring the so bad that it’s good: Pitch Perfect) and most popular of all - the spa. This consisted of an open air pool with warm water and massaging jets plus “lazy river” where you could just bob around like a cork for a couple of hours.

Miss Carter and Mrs Cotton also did a special walking tour on the last day for those that had tired of skiing. After a week of wearing ski boots, this came as great relief for some and they celebrated by singing, dancing, performing snow angels and generally being silly.

All students were superbly behaved and were a credit to parents and schools, but a special mention must go to Malaiya, Anouk, Christiana and Cleo who were the most cool, calm and collected of students – showing exactly how to enjoy themselves and balance maturity, humour, respect, learning and having fun. Well done to the fab four.

A big thank you to all parents for your support over what could have been a difficult week, but turned into such a successful and developmental one. All students learnt loads about themselves which is what it is all about after all!

At Blackheath High School, Sport is a really important part of school life. Find out more by exploring our website.