During February half term, 40 Year 12 and Year 13 students and 4 members of staff hit the slopes of Andorra for an exciting skiing adventure. Andorra is a tiny principality between France and Spain and ski holidays there have been enticing skiers for decades. Andorra’s ski resorts are rated some of the best in Europe, so it was DSFC’s time to take advantage of this. 

Students and staff all met at Newcastle airport bright and early on Sunday 18th February to start their journey. Flying from Newcastle to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Toulouse and then the coach from Toulouse to Andorra, arriving late on Sunday evening to the hotel in Andorra la Vella.  

After a restful night’s sleep, following a long day of travelling, they got kitted out with ski wear on Monday and hit the slopes of El Pas de la Casa. As they all had different skiing abilities, they were organised into different groups. Mr Miller, a self-proclaimed skiing expert, and the advanced skiers went off to the slopes after an initial induction; Mr and Mrs Kirkpatrick went with those students who had some prior experience of skiing and Mr Bone stayed with the students who, like him, had not skied before. All students made great progress throughout the course of the week. 

Each day consisted of five hours of skiing, which in itself was tiring but all staff and students had a fantastic time. Despite them all packing multiple layers of thermals, the weather was bright, sunny and warm (13 degrees) and sun cream was the sought after product. The only day it snowed was their final one!

Prior to departure, there was a little bit of time for some tax free shopping in the malls of Andorra, which students were very happy about. 

The students were an an absolute pleasure to be with and were excellent ambassadors for Durham Sixth Form Centre. Look out for details about next year’s ski trip – information coming soon!