Here’s why the Independent Schools Ski Championships should be part of your school’s 2020-21 Outdoor Education programme.

If you’ve been to the Independent Schools Ski Championships (ISSC) before, we’re sure you won’t need any convincing to join us again in Les Deux Alpes this December.

If you haven’t been before, here are eight reasons the ISSC should be on your school’s Outdoor Education agenda for 2020:

1. Everyone’s welcome

For many children, the ISSC will be their first experience of competitive ski racing. Others are seasoned ski racers.

The stade at Les Deux Alpes facilitates both levels of skier, unlike the FIS-certified stades which are not suitable for introductory level racers.

2. Impulse

Phil Brown and the Impulse Racing team will be supporting the event again this year.

The Impulse team are all BASI qualified and many of them are former national team members.

Parents and teachers always comment on the fantastic calibre of tuition on offer at the ISSC.

3. Les Deux Alpes

Les Deux Alpes is a fantastic, well-established resort with access to some of the best skiing France has to offer. Its position on the glacier also means it’s ideal for an early season competition.

What’s more, over the years, we’ve built up a close relationship with many of the organisations in resort. We also have staff out in Les Deux Alpes throughout the winter running Basecamp, our ski and snowboard instructor programme.

Thanks to this rapport, the ski schools, lift pass office and tourism office are always willing to help us out. They will happily do everything in their power to squeeze in a full race programme – even if the weather has other ideas!

4. GCSE and A Level PE

More and more students are choosing to do skiing for the NEA component of their GCSE or A Level PE GCSE. Plus, many exam boards now require evidence of involvement in ski competitions to secure the highest grades. The ISSC is the perfect opportunity to get this assessment completed.

Like this year, we’ll have a professional videographer at the event who’ll be on hand to capture high-definition footage of these skiers demonstrating their skills.

We’re also lucky to have Kaeti Breward, our Event Organiser. Kaeti brings with her over ten years’ experience as a PE teacher and insider knowledge gleaned as a PE GCSE and A Level moderator.

5. Our experience

As you may already be aware, the ISSC is organised by Halsbury Ski. Halsbury have over 30 years’ experience organising school trips and are one of the leading providers of school ski trips.

Many of their staff are also former teachers and so understand the pressures of leading a school ski trip.

6. An unrivalled après schedule

You really can’t beat our après schedule. Last year, evening activities included ice skating, bowling, a disco, tobogganing, presentations from Britain’s fastest snowboarder and, of course, that incredible airbag!

We also added a couple of activities such as laser tag into the mix to keep our skiers entertained when the weather wouldn’t play ball.

7. Improvements for this year

There’s always room to improve and we’ve listened to feedback from last year. We’re working hard to ensure race timings and results will be available a lot sooner this year. And we’ve got plans to livestream the races for parents at home!

We’re also in discussion with some really exciting snowsports celebrities and brands who want to support the event this year. Make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates!

8. 2019 Feedback

We were delighted with feedback from last year’s event and many schools have already confirmed they’ll be back this year. Parents, teachers and racers all got in contact to tell us what an amazing success the competition was. Here are a couple of our favourites:

Great staff, very helpful and efficient. Always put needs of customers and children first at no extra expense. Guildford High School

We owe a massive thanks to Halsbury Ski for taking over the organisation of the event this year and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with them on our future ski trips as well as ski racing events. Merchant Taylors’ School

See you there?

With many schools already confirmed to return to the ISSC this December, if you’re interested in joining us this year, we suggest you get in touch as soon as possible!

For more details about the 2020 School Ski Championships, download a copy of brochure.