Wednesday morning

Another sunny morning on the piste. I skied with the beginners and nobody succeeded in wiping me out (although one or two made a pretty good effort!). We managed to descend the blue twice in the lesson with time to spare, having managed it only once (and having run out of time) yesterday, and the skiers remarked how much easier it seemed today. Progress indeed!

The beginners (plus Hannah who paid us a brief visit)

Years ago, people used to ski in interesting hats, which was always fun, but the recent very sensible move to wearing helmets had stopped that. Now, however, it is possible to buy novelty helmet covers, as modelled here by Harrison and Harley:

The chicken and the elephant go skiing

I am hoping to have some more photos from people to post later.

Beginners' progress

Our beginners have made really good progress over the first three days. We started by getting the hang of things on a very gentle slope just adjacent to the hotel on the first morning:

During the afternoon, we went up a chairlift and tried a different piste just at the top. On the Monday morning, we took a quick hop on the bus to the neighbouring village of Chantemerle and used the beginners' piste there which had the great advantage of "un tapis magique" (magic carpet), which is a conveyor belt to return the skiers to the top of the slope to try again. By the end of the second afternoon, the beginners were developing some nice controlled turns.

Le tapis magique

This morning, the instructors felt brave enough to take us all up to the top of a "blue" run and ski down it. The green runs aren't open yet, so this was going to be quite a challenge. I'm delighted to report that all our beginners successfully made it down the run with very few meltdowns. Aphra may now be in line for a special "taking down Mr Court" award as she managed to knock me completely off my feet (and skis) at one point. Needless to say, Aphra came off worse but fortunately was only winded!

Here are a few of our heroes about to ski off a snow mound:

Aphra

Freya

James

Monday skiing

More good skiing today and all have returned intact.  Here are a couple of photos by Louis Rawlinson from this morning.  I may have more later.

First day on the pistes

We were all very relieved and pleased to find that the snow cannons had been hard at work and there were good pistes to ski on in Serre Chevalier today. The more advanced skiers went up a couple of lifts and found some nice pistes at the top and the beginners were taken to an area adjacent to the hotel this morning and were able to cope with a chairlift this afternoon. All are going to Chantemerle by bus (about 15 minutes) tomorrow to try the pistes over there.

Higher intermediates (Photo: Louis Rawlinson)

Photo: Lily Simon 

Photo: Lily Simon

Photo: Mr Edlin

Photo: Mr Edlin

Photo: Mr Edlin

Serre Chevalier weather

The snow has been falling in the Alps this weekend, and here is a weather widget that will give you updated forecasts for Serre Chevalier. This forecast is for the middle station of the lifts at an altitude of 2000m:

View detailed snow forecast for Serre Chevalier at:
snow-forecast.com

Serre Chevalier 2015: Travel Itinerary, videos

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 12th December 2015   Outward journey
06:20   Arrive at Shoreham College to register and load the coach.
06:40   Leave for Gatwick
07:40   Check-in at Gatwick North Terminal
09:40   Depart from Gatwick, flight BA2754 for Grenoble
12:30   Arrive at Grenoble, get luggage, depart by coach for Serre Chevalier
16:15   (approx) Arrive at Clubhotel Frejus, Serre Chevalier

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

Saturday 19th December 2015   Return journey
08:55   Depart from Serre Chevalier
11:55   Check in at Grenoble airport
13:55   Depart from Grenoble, flight BA2755 for Gatwick
14:35   Arrive at Gatwick, collect luggage, board coach and depart for Shoreham
16:30   Arrive back at Shoreham College

All times quoted are local times, i.e. times in France are an hour ahead.
Hotel Address: Clubhotel Frejus, Villeneuve, 5240 Serre Chevalier, France
School trip phone (always carried by a member of staff on the trip): 07854 983257

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.

Here is a video from Skibound showing the Clubhotel Frejus:

- and a video showing the skiing at Serre Chevalier:

Ardres 15: Travel information etc.

I received some details at the end of the week from Acorn about bags. They recommend packing one soft bag of maximum size 40x50x70cm, max weight 20kg.  That is actually quite large and if your bag is smaller and the sleeping bag doesn't fit inside, please make sure that you name the bag containing the sleeping bag as they can easily get mixed up.  I do have one luggage label for each person.  One small piece of hand luggage and the pillow is recommended to be carried inside the coach, but put the pillow in the main bag if you prefer (and it fits!).  Please bring some food and water.  Acorn have confirmed that the first meal at Ardres will be in the evening, so the children will need to bring their own packed lunch (not to be eaten on the coach!).

I heard one of the children mention on Friday the intention to travel in a onesie.  This would not be acceptable!  The headmaster has reminded the pupils that they are representing the College, particularly when travelling on the public ferry, and they do need to be acceptably dressed.  The trip clothing would be ideal as it would make it easier for the staff to spot the pupils.  (Any clothing not collected on Friday will be given out on Monday morning).

Please make sure that any medicines which need to be taken regularly are handed to a member of staff with clear instructions about doses and times.  Thanks to those parents who have already emailed me with instructions.  Pupils requiring inhalers should also bring adequate numbers and we would recommend giving staff a spare, labelled one.

I have been checking the weather forecast and it has been getting gradually more optimistic,  now predicting plenty of sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday in particular, with probably a nice breeze (for the sailing activity).  This is excellent but does mean that the children are likely to be outdoors in the sunshine all day with limbs and faces poking out  -  hopefully getting tanned rather than burned, so please bring some high factor waterproof sunblock.

Good news regarding tents.  I have been in touch with Acorn and they are able to let us have a couple of extra tents since the other adjacent village is not occupied, and this gives us a bit more flexibility.  I have been able to accommodate people's wishes (although there are some conflicting requests!) and we can hopefully be fairly flexible with those who did not express a preference as we do not have to squeeze everybody in to fill all the tents.  I will be discussing and finalising the arrangements with some people during Monday's journey.

We will have five groups for the activities and these will be announced and finalised on arrival.

Whenever we need to collect everyone together and check people, the pupils will need to report to the member of staff listed below.  There is no need to stay together in these groups, they are simply to allow us to tick everyone off on our lists efficiently. I have given Mr Ritchie all the girls (since he is not likely to know pupils and this will make it easier), and the others have been arranged alphabetically.  Please report to this person on arrival on Monday morning.

Mr Ritchie
Saffron Ahern, Bebe Bernstein, Aimee Cheeseman, Lilia Erskine, Rebecca Hemingway, Maddie Marinko Maechler, Amber Spicer, Lili Veness

Mr Batstone
Thomas Adlam, Finley Allen, George Cameron, Mackenzie Cannon, Ben Christie, Henry Clark, Michael Cunningham, Josh Davison, Luca Falletti

Mr Court
Beau Fletcher, Max Gausden, Martin Green, Ethan Highwood, Jonny Hood, Moctar Johnson, Llewy Jones, Alfie Lucas, Charlie Metcalfe, Eden Montrose

Ms Morgan
Joe O'Dell, William Orams, Harry Parker, Oliver Patey, Thomas Prate, Torin Seagrove, Dylan Shane, Matthew Sharp, Alfie Simpson

Mrs Salih
Levi Smith, Zachary Tarry, Harry Taswell, Patrick Taylor, Jack Teale, Svante Wallseth, Fred Wilson, Tom Wootton, Oscar Worley

I look forward to seeing you all at 6.30 on Monday morning.  Please drive in to the College car park and avoid parking in St Julian's Lane as the coach is likely to need the space in the road to manoeuvre.

We have clothing!

I am very relieved to report that two large boxes of hoodies and T-shirts have just arrived and I am now sorting them out and hope to be able to give them out at break tomorrow (Friday).

JC

These are now sorted, bagged, labelled and ready to collect  -  any time on Friday, DT room.

Ardres 2015: 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 25th May 2015 Outward journey

06:30 Arrive at Shoreham College to register and load the coach
07:00 Depart from Shoreham College
09:15 Arrive at Dover DFDS 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 29th May 2015 Return journey

11:30 Depart from the Ardres activity centre
12:30 Arrive at DFDS terminal, Calais
13:30 Depart from Calais
14:00 Arrive at Dover, disembark in coach, head back to Shoreham
16:30 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 2015: Information evening, kit list.

Many thanks to everyone for turning up to the information evening tonight.

If you were unable to attend and didn't sign the behaviour form, I will be giving those to your offspring and sending you a PDF version.

Here is the promised kit list:

• Sleeping Bag (it may be quite cold at night, so a "3 seasons" one) 
• Pillow 
• Nightclothes (onesies are good) 
• Bath towel / hand towel (several) 
• Casual clothes for evening 
• Disposable camera/films 
• Insect repellent 
• Old T-shirts/shorts (many) 
• Rash vests (recommended as they dry very fast) 
• Jumper(s) and/or fleece(s) 
• 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) for activities if it rains 
• Shoes (not open toed) for wet activities 
• 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 (there is a tuckshop).. 

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. There will also not be facilities for charging things up.

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.

If you have your own "shortie" wetsuit, you might want to wear it for some of the activities (although wetsuits are provided). If you bring yours, be prepared to take it home wet!

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.

Ardres 2015: Clothing orders

We are able to include a printed T-shirt in the total price and there is also the option to order a personalised hoodie (name across the back) for £21.  These come in a variety of colours and sizes.

Parents have been emailed with a link to a Google form to fill in with your preferences.  If ordering the hoodie, you will need to pay an extra £21.  Please let me know if you need me to re-send the link to the form.  The sooner the better with these please as I will need to send off the order later in the term and it will save me having to chase you up.  Thank you to those who have already filled it in.

Ski Trip 2015: Update 2

Not only Ardres but also the ski trip, it's been a crazy couple of weeks ...

Fantastic news today as we were able to confirm that Skibound have agreed to increase our booking to include all those who applied by Monday's deadline and Mr Mathias has agreed to join the staff. Our thanks are due to Mr Warner and Mrs O'Neill-Roe who have worked hard behind the scenes to make this happen.

Watch this space for further updates.

Ardres 2015: Update 4

Good news all round.  We are going to be able to take all 46 pupils who applied to go by the deadline last Friday.  This is the maximum capacity of our village at the site.  I also have a couple of pupils in reserve who have asked if there are any more places, so there shouldn't be a problem if anyone needs to drop out.

I am hopeful that I will shortly be able to circulate a Google form to order clothing.  Watch this space and your email inboxes.

Full steam ahead ...

Ardres 2015: Update 3

Bookings for the trip are now closed and deposits have been paid.  I have been very pleased with the on-line form and the website which made the whole process much easier, whilst providing pupils and parents with more and better information.  I have received some good feedback and I am convinced that this is the way to go when launching trips, so expect more of that in the future.

I am now working to try to fit in all the pupils who applied.  The absolute maximum that the company can accommodate is 46 pupils if every available bed is occupied.  How many pupils are on my list in total?  You guessed it, 46.  Of course, it is more complicated than that and the actual maximum number depends on the number of girls (we obviously can't have mixed tents) and how the staff need to be accommodated.  I shall try to finalise that on Monday and let you (and Acorn) know.

So far so good, and thank you for your support.  Please email at any time if you have any queries.

Ski Trip 2015: Update 1

Owing to rather unprecedented and unexpected demand for places, the original 27 had all been taken within 24 hours of the letters being emailed out yesterday morning!  Understandably, there were some disappointed people today.

Please be assured that we are working on this and initial indications suggest that it is possible that we may be able to secure some more places and staff in order to accommodate the people currently on the reserve list.  Please do continue to bring in forms (directly to Mrs O'Neill-Roe) if you would like to go so that we can see how many extra places we need to try to get.  No promises, but we're doing all we can.  Watch this space and your email inbox.

Ardres 2015: Update 2

We have now filled the original 40 places.  However, this does not mean that the trip is full or that nobody else can come.  It is still important that anyone else who wishes to come fills in the on-line form to book a place on the reserve list, and this needs to be done by the end of the week.  I can then look into the possibility of getting a few more places, which is actually quite likely.  I do, however, need to know how many people, and the order in which they applied, hence the need to fill in the form.

It is also useful to have a few people in reserve as there are many reasons why people might change their minds or circumstances and have to pull out, and then others can be slotted in.  In the end, we very often manage to take all those who wish to go.

I am, of course, delighted at the enthusiastic response to the trip and the fact that we are going to be able to do it for the lowest price.

Ski Trip 2015: Serre Chevalier

This year's December ski trip is launching today.  Details are contained in the letter which is being emailed to all parents of pupils in years 7 to 10.  Copies of the letter and application form are also available from Mr Court, Mrs Liley and Mr Edlin, as well as the front reception desk.  I believe it will also be on the 'Letters home' section of the College website.

The completed booking form and £250 deposit need to be handed directly to Mrs O'Neill-Roe (and nobody else) by Monday 9th Feb.

Updates will be posted here.

Ardres 2015: Update 1

Recruitment is going well.  The minimum number for the trip to take place is 25 and we are now standing at just over 30 bookings.  The maximum we can take is 40, or possibly 42 if I can recruit more staff, so there aren't very many places left.  Don't leave it until the end of the week if you're thinking of booking up, as several more children have told me they are sure they are coming and we might run out of places.  I am also very hopeful that we will only need to charge the lowest price (which requires at least 35 pupils).

Ardres 2015 launched!

We have launched the Ardres trip for Summer half term 2015 for pupils in Year 7 and Year 8. The trip was introduced to the pupils in assembly this morning and parents have all been emailed with a link to the launch website. I am pleased to confirm that the booking system is up and running; I received one booking reservation within a few minutes of sending out the email!