TWENTY-TWO students from Court Fields School, Wellington, enjoyed an incredible trip to Austria during the February half-term.

The party left the school on the Friday evening to embark on the 28-hour journey to Bruck, in the Tirol region of Austria. The ferry left Dover at about 4.30am and the students arrived at the Eberleiten that evening. Everyone was relieved to make it to bed to get ready for the coming week.

The next morning students were fully kitted out with skis, boots, poles and helmets. The party then headed to Kaltenbach to begin their first day of skiing. The weather was good and so were the conditions on the piste. They met their ski instructors and split into three groups so that the beginners could start their lessons, and the more experienced skiers could get going too. For some who had been before it was exciting to be back on the slopes and everyone found the first day rewarding.

That evening the whole group went out to go bowling and some of the competition was fierce.

On the second day the students returned to Kaltenbach. The beginner groups were starting to find their feet and the ‘professional’ group even began to experiment with some backwards skiing (not recommended!). That night after dinner, the party went for a pizza evening because skiing definitely creates a large appetite!

Following two days of skiing, the students set off to the Zillertal arena for the next two days. This resort does not just have miles of beautiful ski slopes but also a speed track, slalom race, snow park and ski cross run. Students had a splendid time time exploring. Ski conditions were made a little tricky by the thick fog that engulfed the mountainside. Visibility was reduced to a few metres on parts of the piste but it was very exciting and the instructors took good care of group.

For those two nights, the students enjoyed going out to the amazing swimming pool and ice skating. The group loved the slides and whirlpool – and meeting another school party from the Netherlands – and had fun racing around the ice.

On the fifth day, they moved on to Hochfugen for the ski race. The views on the gondola up were extraordinary. At last they had the bright sunshine they had been waiting for. There was a lot of competitive talk but Harry Radford came out on top overall, with Bethany Channon taking a well-deserved victory in the girls’ race.

On the final day, the party returned to the Zillertal arena to make the most of their final moments on the mountains. The top group enjoyed some action off piste and eagerly took on some jumps too. When they returned to the hotel, it was a quick shower and pack-up, before getting back into the bus and heading home.

The journey back seemed to fly by, with students soon sitting and tucking into a full English breakfast on the ferry as the white cliffs of Dover came into sight. It was a truly ‘wunderbar’ week.