On the first Friday night of the new term, a hardy group of 28 BGE pupils joined 20 pupils from Thurso High School and headed off on an overnight journey which took them to Glasgow, Geneva and finally Les Menuires, an incredible ski resort in the heart of the French Alps.
Once getting their ski gear sorted on the Saturday afternoon, all pupils hit the slopes on Sunday morning. The pupils showed their perseverance and humility as they all graduated from the beginner slope onto a variety of green and blue runs around the resort.
Pupils from both Wick and Thurso were organised into smaller groups, each group working with a local ESF (Ecole du Ski Français) instructor. The instructors were keen to show the pupils as much of the resort as possible; this meant lots of different ski lifts and gondolas. Some pupils made it to the tops of La Masse and Mont de la Chambre – these both had breath-taking views with Mont Blanc just 50km away. All WHS pupils participated in the 12 ski sessions across the 6-days; a fantastic achievement.
Pupils also got to experience a variety of après-ski activities. These included ‘Le Mine’: a super-speedy luge with views across the valleys; pizza night at a local pizzeria; Snow Games with hot chocolate on the terrace; and authentic crèpe night. Friendships were made and links between the two schools were strengthened.
S2 pupil Kayci said that she had a great time and thought the skiing was really fun. She enjoyed the evening activities, too, with the Snow Games being her favourite. S1 pupils Kara and Kyla described the trip as “bright and brilliant”. Kara admitted that she was nervous at first but ended up having a fantastic time. Kyla reported that her favourite part was taking the ski lifts up to the tallest peaks. S2 pupils Charlotte and Elsie admitted that they would love to go skiing again. They particularly enjoyed that their ski instructor took them on so many different routes across the week. S2 pupil Will also had a great time and particularly enjoyed being in a group with pupils from both Wick and Thurso. He said: “I loved going on the faster slopes and being better than the Thurso boys”.
Miss Irwin, Mr Ross and Miss Ker were delighted by the conduct and effort of the pupils throughout the entire trip and are looking forward to next year already. Details on the trip for 2026 will be released soon so please stay tuned.