Tignes 2012 GoPro photos

Some of the pupils hired a GoPro 2 HD camera and chest mount from Matt the ski tech at the Hotel Curling, and shot stills and video.  I've uploaded an album of all the still photos (in reduced size).

Click the photo below to see the album

or click here for a slideshow.

Latest ETA

Just leaving Gatwick in the coach. Expected to arrive at school at about 2.15pm.

Update

Currently at baggage reclaim.  There will be a slight delay. Will update when on coach.

Everyone back intact.

I'm sure that parents will be almost as relieved as I am to learn that all skiers have returned intact from the last ski session.

Another sunny day

Friday and the sun is shining to give a bright end to the week.  Staff have taken quite a few photos, mostly with their phones, and I am trying to collect them together so that I can put up a gallery of shots when we get back.  In the meantime, I'll see if I can post two or three from here.

Back to normal

After yesterday's sunshine, it was back to a bit of falling snow today with the interesting addition of the tops of many pistes hidden in thick cloud.  However, the skiing was excellent and all returned intact.

Sunshine!

We awoke to clear air and sunshine this morning.  The pistes had been properly prepared and we could properly see where we were going.  I think everyone particularly enjoyed the skiing this morning.

Guess what ... it's snowing.

The snow continued to fall all day once again, but our skiers were undaunted and had another very successful day on the pistes.  We re-organised the groups this morning, moving several of the more confident beginners up a group and bumping up a few from each of the intermediate groups as well, and this was a successful move.  I am delighted to report that every one of the beginners has now successfully negotiated the chairlift and the blue piste several times. Mrs Liley and I were particularly impressed with Lauren this afternoon as it took quite a bit of persuading to get her to try it and she did so very well and even said afterwards that she had enjoyed it.  This is really what it's all about and we look forward to further progress tomorrow.

A snowy second day

All have returned safe and happy after a successful second day on the piste.  Snow conditions were excellent although the falling snow limited visibility somewhat.  Almost all the beginners made it up a big chairlift (or "stairlift" as one of them called it) and completed several runs on a nice blue piste.

A successful first day

This is Jack after he and the rest of the beginners' group made fantastic progress on their first day on the piste.  All were taking a button lift to the top of a proper piste on their first afternoon and most were able to string together a controlled sequence of snowplough turns.  The instructor is hoping to take most of the group to a different piste on a chairlift tomorrow whilst anyone needing some more practice first will be coached a bit more on their snowplough technique.

First day's skiing

All groups had a great first day on the piste in excellent snow conditions and everyone returned tired but intact. I will try to post a photo.

Thick snow in Tignes.

More snow expected overnight.

Arrived

All safely installed in the hotel.

Geneva

Safely arrived in Switzerland and en route to France and Tignes.

Travel update

Boarded plane, all running to time so far.

Tignes 2012: Travelling groups

I have split the pupils into groups to facilitate checking that we are all present at the various stages of the journey when we will need to do this.  It also helps when we have to present our passports as the groups are  based (where possible) on the order in which the pupils appear on the e-ticket list.  There is no need to stay in these groups most of the time, but these are the staff to report to when told to do so.

Mrs J Liley Mr J Court
Amelia Leclercq Tom Edwards
Alex Marinko Maechler Riki Elderfield
Chris Martin Sam Elson
Reba McDowall George Fletcher
James Monaghan James Godfray
Dan Paton Tomo Green
Will Pope Tom Halmos
George Prosser Jack Harper

Mr J Shelley Mr O Edlin
Ben Silver Lauren Haviland Webster
Lewis Sloggett Sam Hotston-Tiné
Jamie Smith Ben Knee
Max Spicer Zach Knee
Lloyd Suggett Elliott Le Warde
Seb Warner Nick Bandar
Olivia Watts Louis Bates
Ollie Webb

Ms R Story
Jake Wiseman-Lovett
Lucas Wright
James Ballard
Harrison Blair
Robert Currey
Daniel Mugridge
Jasmine Dean-Milward
Roseanne Dean-Milward

Please remember to check this blog on Saturday 22nd for details of any delays or alterations to the currently anticipated arrival time at the College of 1.30pm.

The College mobile phone will be live for the duration of the trip: 07854 983257.

Tignes 2012: The final countdown

We have now received details of the sizes of the rooms (which are all 4s and 5s) and the staff have had a meeting in which Mr Edlin sorted people out, doing his very best to accommodate the requests we have received from pupils and parents.  He is the man to see if you have any concerns.

A parent pointed out that 'swimming gear' did not appear on the kit list, so it has now been added.  We can never be absolutely sure whether we will be able to arrange a visit to the local pool, since it depends on the adequate provision of lifeguards and other factors, but we think it quite likely this year.  Some French swimming pools do not permit loose swimming shorts (something to do with fibres in their filters, apparently), so bring proper trunks if you can (boys!).

Could I stress once again that there are very tight restrictions on liquids and creams/pastes in hand luggage, so please pack any such items into the suitcase and also make sure that there are no scissors or pointed objects in the hand luggage or pockets.  It is a good idea to put one pair of ski socks into the hand luggage as sometimes we have to put them on and get to the ski fit very quickly on arrival before we get a chance to unpack suitcases.

Skibound have informed me that pupils are permitted one medium sized case and one item of hand luggage with a combined maximum weight of 20kg, and excess baggage charges are very high, so please be careful.

Please also remember that we expect to have to collect 5 euros from each skier as soon as we arrive as a deposit for their electronic ski pass, and this will be returned when the ski pass is handed in at the end.  It is often a good idea to get staff to look after pupils' euros and issue them as required (many pupils will lose the money straight away!), and we are happy to do this.  Please give the money to one of us in a named envelope (not a bulky wallet) if you want us to do this.

We recommend wearing the ski coat and suitable footwear for snow on the outward journey as the resort is very snowy.  The skiing, incidentally, is reported as excellent and the resort is up and running with a very good depth of snow at all levels.
Please see webcams here.

Just to remind you, the College mobile phone will be with one of us at all times should you wish to contact staff during the trip, and the number is 07854 983257.

We will see you all at 04:10 on Saturday morning.

Tignes 2012: Travel Itinerary

We have now received all the details about the travel arrangements.  Any updates will be posted here.  Please watch this blog for any delays or alterations to return times.

Saturday 15th December 2012   Outward journey
04:10   Arrive at Shoreham College to register and load the coach to leave by 04:30
05:35   Check-in at Gatwick North Terminal
07:35   Depart from Gatwick, flight BA2736 for Geneva
10:10   Arrive at Geneva, collect luggage, board coach and depart for Tignes
14:55   (approx) Arrive at Tignes

Please note that a packed lunch will be required, as the first meal provided is in the evening, although there will be a breakfast of some sort on the plane.  We suggest buying a bottle of water at the airport after passing through security checks.

Saturday 22nd December 2012   Return journey
05:05   Depart from Tignes
09:05   Check in at Geneva airport
11:05   Depart from Geneva, flight BA2737 for Gatwick
11:40   Arrive at Gatwick, collect luggage, board coach and depart for Shoreham
13:30   Arrive back at Shoreham College

All times quoted are local times, i.e. times in France are an hour ahead.
Hotel Address: Clubhotel Curling, Val Claret, Tignes 73220, France.

I will be able to update this blog via smartphone during the journey if there are any alterations to the expected return time, so it would be a good idea to watch out for updates on the Saturday.

Tignes Ski Trip 2012: Kit List

This is the basic list that has been emailed to parents.  We are expecting the resort to be snowy and the weather when skiing to be very cold, so the thermal base layers and really good gloves will be important.

We don't recommend taking mobile phones and other expensive electronic paraphernalia as some of it always gets lost.  The staff will not have time to look for lost gadgets, so please only bring things that are heavily insured or that you are prepared to risk losing.  If pupils do bring mobile phones, we will be asking for their numbers.  If parents want to speak to a member of staff during the trip, one of us will have the College mobile phone, the number of which is 07854 983257.

General:

Normal everyday clothes for wearing around the hotel
Normal washing equipment for use in the hotel
Nightwear
Towel
Swimming kit (in case a visit to the local pool is arranged)
Outdoor clothes and suitable footwear for use in snowy conditions

For the skiing:

Thermal base layers
T-shirts, sweatshirts
Salopettes or ski trousers
Ski socks (several pairs)
Ski coat
Ski gloves
Ski goggles
Balaclava or thermal face protection would be useful
(We will be wearing helmets, so most hats will not fit inside)
Ski goggles (normal sunglasses are not appropriate)
Sun cream, lip balm

Equipment provided at Tignes:

Ski boots
Ski poles
Skis
Helmet

Ardres 2012: Thank you

Probably the final Ardres blog post for this year's trip.  I would like to thank publicly the staff who made the trip possible.  Miss "Admiral" Story, Miss Cassan, Mrs Liley, Mr Edlin, Mr Cox and, of course, Mr Rogers, whose hard work throughout the year completing all the paperwork and liaising with the tour company made the whole thing possible.

Thanks also to the pupils whose enthusiasm and conspicuous enjoyment made the trip a pleasure to be a part of. We hope you all enjoyed yourselves despite the gale-force ferry journeys and occasional spots of rain. The weather was a little cooler than last year, but hearing what is was like at home over the same period made us realise that we were actually very lucky that the sun shone for most of the week.

Those of you in Year 7 who would like a chance to repeat the experience (or feel you missed out this time) and anyone in Year 6 who sees this will be pleased to hear that we have already reserved a village for the Summer half-term holiday week next year, 2013.  We will launch the trip in the September term, so watch out for the letters and be prepared to bring back the deposit quickly; the original capacity filled up very fast this time.

Finally, thank you for the thank yous, as it were.  The emails, cards (and even chocolates!) are much appreciated.

Ardres 2012: Photos

I've put a selection of photos from this week's trip to Ardres into a Picasa Web Album, accessible via the following link: Ardres 2012 photos.

ETA UPDATE

Journey has been quick. Expected back shortly after 2pm.

Latest ETA

Owing to a slight delay docking at Dover, we are now expecting to arrive at about 2:45pm.

Ignore last post!

Unexpectedly squeezed onto 10.00 ferry so no delay now expected.

Updated return time

Currently delayed at ferry port, looks like at least 2 hours, will post when we have more definite details.

Packing.

After a rather wet afternoon, the sun is once again shining and all have survived intact. Everyone is now involved in packing and forcing dirty wet clothes into bin liners ready for tomorrow's journey home.

Wednesday: Bright and breezy

Excellent sailing weather.
So far not able to connect to wi-fi so unable to post photos.

Sunshine

Tuesday morning and the sun is shining.

Arrived

We have arrived safely at Ardres.

France!

After a somewhat lumpy crossing, we have arrived in France and are on our way to Ardres.

Ardres 2012: The final countdown

Hopefully you will all have received an email directing you here, if you had not found this blog already.  Please see the kit list and travel itinerary posted below.  We look forward to seeing you all bright and early at 5:45 on Monday morning.

Please park inside the school grounds in the car park (or the edge of the school field) and keep St Julian's Lane as clear as possible so that the coach (which is a large one) can park in the lane.  Pupils will need to report to the member of staff listed below to register and will then be taken to board the coach.

Miss Cassan:  Maddy O'Meara, Lottie Bentham, Alex Griffiths, Ashleigh Phipps, Lily Simon, Sam Thompson, Jacob Bizzell-Hawes, Ollie Webb

Mr Court: Max Walsh, Jake Solomon, Blake Barling, Reba McDowall, Daniel Phillips, Harry Marsh, Piers Hamer, Samir Bahemou


Mr Cox:  Kieran Turnbull, George Burgess, Will Pope, Ben Cottey-Hill, Harrison Blair, Jacob Thompson, Nick Bandar, Chris Martin

Mr Edlin:  Joseph Batchelor, Kyran O'Brien, Jamie Smith, George Fletcher, Andrew Huet, Connor Lee, Rhys Prince, Cameran Lake-Gouhari, Oscar Pike-Scott

Mrs Liley:  Jasmine Milward, Gigi Liley, Amelia Leclercq, Ella Brock, Emily Erskine, Olivia Kelsey, Chloe Stearns, Emily Prosser, Amelia Paul

Mr Rogers:  Noah Smith, Jacob Criddle, Charlie Inkpen, Alex Townley, Sam Box, Zac Barnett, Jake Silver, Joe Christie

Ms Story:  Joe Sharp, Tom Coggings, Fin Parker, Robery Currey, Harry Bentham, Tom Corbett, Bryn Davies

The lists are purely to divide up the large group to make it easier for us to count people and are not the same as the activity groups or tent allocations.  You are not expected to stay as a group whilst travelling.

Any last-minute queries, I will be checking my school email (mrcourt@shorehamcollege.co.uk) over the weekend, and the emergency phone (07854 983257) will be switched on for most of the time from now.

I hope to be able to post updates as we are travelling, at least to confirm our arrival at the activity centre in Ardres on Monday.  It would be a good idea to subscribe to this blog, details at the bottom.

Ardres 2012: the clothing has arrived

The T-shirts and hoodies for the Ardres trip were delivered this afternoon and we will be giving them out, hopefully, on Monday morning.

Ardres 2012: Travel Itinerary

This is hopefully the final version of the itinerary.  Any updates will, of course, be posted.  Also, watch this space for updated return times.

Monday 4th June 2012   Outward journey
05:45   Arrive at Shoreham College to register and load the coach to leave by 06:15
09:15   Arrive at Dover P&O Ferry terminal
10:15   Depart from Dover
12:45   Arrive at Calais, disembark in coach, head to Ardres
13:30   Arrive at the activity centre in Ardres

Please note that a packed lunch will be required, as the first meal provided is in the evening.

Friday 8th June 2012   Return journey
08:00   Depart from the Ardres activity centre
09:00   Arrive at DFDS terminal, Dunkirk
10:00   Depart from Dunkirk
11:00   Arrive at Dover, disembark in coach, head back to Shoreham
14:00   Arrive back at Shoreham College

All times quoted are local times, i.e. times in France are an hour ahead.

I will be able to update this blog via smartphone during the journey if there are any alterations to the expected return time, so it would be a good idea to watch out for updates on the Friday.

Ardres, June 2012: Information Evening

An excellent turnout for the 2012 Ardres trip information evening tonight, many thanks to everyone for turning up. Some information was distributed, which I shall also post here just in case. 

Firstly, the kit list:

•        Sleeping Bag/Duvet

•        Pillow

•        Mattress cover (sheet)

•        Nightclothes

•        Bath towel / hand towel  (many)

•        Casual clothes for evening

•        Disposable camera/films

•        Insect repellent

•        Old T-shirts/shorts (many)

•        Jumper(s) and/or fleece(s)

•        Pen & paper

•        Bin bag(s) for dirty/wet clothes

•        Socks

•        Sunglasses

•        Sun hat

•        Swimming gear

•        Tie-on for glasses/sunglasses

•        Toiletries

•        Torch and spare batteries

•        Tracksuit bottoms

•        Trousers/jeans/shorts

•        Underwear

•        Waterproof sun cream

•        Waterproofs (top & bottoms)

•        Shoes (not open toed) for wet activities (many pairs)

•        At least one pair of dry footwear (not open toed)

•        It would be advisable to bring school polo shirt and shorts as backup

•        A small amount of money changed into euros

Please do not bring expensive electronics such as iPods, cameras, games consoles, mobile phones or jewellery, as these will not be covered by our insurance.  Tents are not very secure, and if you choose to bring valuables we cannot be held responsible for their loss.

I would stress that at least half the activities are likely to involve a dunking in the lake (or at least a significant splashing), so plenty of shorts and T-shirts will be required so that you have dry clothes to change into whilst the wet ones are drying.

Please pack a soft bag rather than a rigid suitcase as luggage space on the coach will be at a premium and soft bags are more efficient and easier to stow. 

Itinerary to follow.