On 14 December, 81 excited Epsom pupils departed for the French resort of Les Deux Alpes to participate in the Junior ski trip. The group consisted of pupils from the Lower Fourth, Middle Fourth and Upper Fourth year groups.
Over the course of the week, the students skied the entire mountain, ranging from an altitude of 3600m to 1300m with stunning views of the glacier and the surrounding peaks. We were spoiled with some beautiful sunshine and decent snow conditions for most of the week. Forceful winds meant that some of the most exposed slopes were closed temporarily, but with the help of a dedicated team of ESF instructors, the pupils were still able to make the most of their lessons.
The beginners’ group grew in confidence daily and thoroughly enjoyed their first time on the slopes. The intermediate group began the week on green runs and ended it by skiing red runs; their ski instructor named Ed Green as the group’s ‘champion’ and Finn McLennan Fordyce as their ‘master jumper’. Equally, in their reflections of the week, the more advanced skiers commented on how much they enjoyed the challenge of tackling testing black runs as well as learning how to ski backwards and complete 360-degree turns.
A good number of pupils chose snowboarding instead and similarly made rapid progress with Olivia Diri earning the nickname ‘Speedy Ollie’. The ski instructors all commented on the positive attitude of the Epsom skiers and emphasised how much everyone improved over the course of the week. The pupils in return embraced the opportunity to thank their instructors with cards and small gifts on the final day.
Emma Wright gave an extended thank you in French to the ski instructors on behalf of the whole group, which was much appreciated. Rudy, who also liked to be known as Spiderman, was the pupils’ favourite and expressed his desire to instruct our pupils on future trips.
The pupils were true ambassadors of the College, and all of the accompanying staff had a wonderful time taking them abroad.
Mr Rob Johnstone
