News and Events

Ski trip to Bardonecchia, Italy

On Saturday 11th March 2023, 80 students and eight members of staff set off on a winter sports adventure to Bardonecchia in Italy. The trip started with a delay on the plane at Leeds airport and our students made the best of it with some getting the opportunity to visit the cockpit before take-off. Members of the public took the time to comment on how impressed they were with our students’ behaviour which is always nice to hear. The group landed at a very wet Chambery airport and made the transfer to the Olympic Village in Bardonecchia.

On day one in the resort, the students were introduced to our brilliant instructors and they hit the slopes at 10am to begin their lessons. Over 50% of the group were either complete beginners or had taken a few lessons at Chill Factore before the trip. There were a few intermediate groups who had some experience of skiing and a top group consisting of more experienced skiers.

Students were lucky enough to ski for 5 hours a day. They experienced some tough skiing conditions, with ice, slush and some mud making it a real challenge at times. Everyone made great progress on the slopes and some also developed their freestyle skills in the snow park! The lead instructor was impressed with our group and commented at the end of the week that Chapel had “great kids and staff”.

At the Olympic Village, the group enjoyed a range of Italian meals, with pasta remaining the firm favourite throughout the week! They enjoyed an afternoon at a local café for crepes and hot chocolate and a trip to the local pizzeria for some delicious traditional pizzas. There were also some interesting local delicacies, such as guinea fowl and rabbit, which a small number of students tried!

The group took part in a variety of evening activities throughout the week, including a games night and a shopping night. Miss Heath also organised a crazy scavenger hunt and the karaoke night was great fun with renditions of ABBA, Coldplay and a group performance of “I’m still standing”!

Both staff and students thoroughly enjoyed the trip, with students developing their life skills and making good progress with their skiing. Here’s to the next PE department trip!