The 2023 ski trip to Italy went very well all things considered – with 20 members of staff and 169 kids things could have been a lot worse!

The start of the week was horrific from my point of view, with a 3am start at the front gates, then a coach journey with many tired faces and neck pillows to try and catch up on a few hours of precious sleep. After being on stand for hours, we made it to Turin with a lovely view of the mountains as we glided through the clouds. We then started the incline,via coach, to our resort, passing Italian carnivals with confetti being thrown and dancing in the streets, and everyone becoming more and more excited as snow was seen on the ground.

The scenery in Gressoney la Trinite was absolutely outstanding, with geography teacher Mrs Welbourne talking about the rock formations and the glacial landscapes in front of us. Our mornings consisted of very early starts at 7am local time with breakfast and a hot chocolate to make it out to the slopes by 9. There were 15 groups total, all varying in ability to accommodate everyone’s different skill set. Throughout the week we skied on two different mountains and did a variety of runs. The instructors were all entertaining with groups learning to ski backwards and skiing holding hands; my group also learnt how to count to 12 in Italian. Upon returning to the hotel after morning and afternoon lessons many tugged off ski boots and face planted into pillows, re-emerging an hour later for evening meetings where hat covers were distributed to one person per group for doing something particularly entertaining.

In the evenings some chose to go out and spend their money at the local supermarket (thousands of packets of haribos must have been bought that week) or the bar where we bought authentic Italian pizza and watched the snow fall under the outdoor heaters. My personal favourite parts of this trip were obviously the skiing, as towards the end there was snowfall which meant some decent powder on top of the slopes, but also the chairlift conversations and the hot chocolates 2000 metres above sea level.

It was these seemingly small moments that made the ski trip what it was, with each individual having a completely different and memorable experience.

Report and photos: Abby C, Year 11