Ski Course to Austria, Easter 2015

On Friday 27th March 2015 we arrived at school ready for our skiing trip to Zell am See, Austria. Many pupils going on the trip had mixed emotions: we were excited but also a little nervous. At around 2pm the coach arrived and, after putting our luggage onto the coach and finding a seat, we began our journey.

The journey was long and tiring but finally we arrived at the port of Dover and boarded the ferry. In small groups we had great fun exploring it; everyone seemed to particularly enjoy the duty free shop! Upon arrival at Calais, France, we set off again for the long drive through France to Austria. Everyone was drained but, surprisingly, everybody seemed to cope extremely well and settled down to sleep, some managing 10 hours. In the morning we stopped at a service station where we were able to have some breakfast, clean our teeth and have a wash. By this time excitement levels were rising as we were approaching Austria.

When we approached our resort everyone could not help but admire the amazing views of the snowy mountains in front of our eyes. Finally, we arrived at the hotel and all gave a huge sigh of relief as we were glad to get sight of our new home for the week. After being shown to our rooms and unpacking we had dinner in the hotel at 6.30 p.m. We then had to go to get our skis and boots fitted ready for the next day of skiing. It was usual to have activities in the evening, but on the first night we were all just too tired so we played pool, table tennis and table football in the games room and had an early night. We all slept really well.

Our first day’s skiing dawned. We woke up at around 7.00 a.m., eagerly put on our ski gear and had breakfast. Every day we had to be on the coach by 8.30a.m. So that we were ready to begin skiing on the mountain at 9.30 a.m. Mr Jones and Mr Bird warned us to take care of our lift passes and EHIC cards. Each day we had to go up in the gondola lift to meet our ski instructors and then begin our skiing for the day. Time just flew by when we were skiing and, before you knew it, it was time for lunch. After lunch we then had the whole afternoon skiing around all different slopes until 2:30 p.m. Skiing was such brilliant fun, with plenty of laughter and falls. Everyone has tales to tell about their fabulous runs, spectacular falls and amazing jumps!

Each evening, after dinner, we joined in with the other school group in the hotel for a ‘Moose Ceremony’, in which an award was given to the person who had done the silliest thing that day. On one day, it surprised no one that the candidate for the ‘Moose’ Award was Mr Jones. That day, after completing a punishing black run, he and Mr Bird were on an easy, empty blue run. However Mr Jones fell and then blamed Mr Bird for going “out of sight”. Less than 100 meters further on Mr Jones fell again; this time this time he claimed that his “goggles had fogged up” and he “couldn’t see a thing”! We believe you Mr Jones!
Every evening back at the hotel there was an organised activity between 7.30 and 9.00. One night it was Austrian bowling, another night it was swimming. In my opinion the best activities were “Pizza night” and exploring the town of Zell am See.

Our last day dawned. We were all very sad to go home. Leaving Zell am See on the Friday at about 6.00 p.m. we had to face the long journey home, which again was tiring. However, time passed quickly and we had fun talking about the memories we had created and the new friendships forged over the last week. Hopefully, we will never forget these.
We have to thank both of our teachers – Mr Bird and Mr Jones – who came with us as it wouldn´t have been possible without them. We are all excited for next year´s trip. Hopefully, more people will come along!

Ashutosh Borikar 7N