Whalsay School joined Anderson High School on a joint school trip to Italy in March 2025!
It was a rough start on the Northlink ferry with high winds and large waves to endure on the crossing to Aberdeen. Everyone grouped together to support each other throughout this journey, forming new friendships from the very start.
It was a long coach journey through the UK, France and into Italy but all remained in good spirits with many funs and laughter along the way.
When we arrived in Italy, it was straight to the Ski resort to get kitted out for the week of ski activities ahead. It was very amusing trying to coordinate walking around in ski boots! We then settled into our hotel to prepare for the week ahead.
Day 1 – Skiing & Town tour with ice-cream
A mixture of nerves and excitement to get started on the slopes. We got our skis on and sorted into our mixed ski groups. We met our instructors who started us out on the baby slopes. We were all really poor in our abilities to begin with – lots of falls, laughter and uncoordinated limbs! Skiing was not an easy skill to quickly master! With great encouragement, guidance and support from the instructors, and each other, we all progressed to safely navigate the first slope of the trip! Success!!
With a lot of tired legs, we stretched our muscles with a long walk through the town, making a stop along an ice-cream café for a treat. The Italian ice-cream was brilliant!! Some managed to squeeze in an extra-scoop or two J
The town was beautiful and calm with some musical entertainment provided along the way. The weather was nice and warm considering we were on a mountain!
Day 2 – Skiing & Bowling with Arcade
Some groups progressed to different levels on day 2, to further challenge each ability. This brought the added challenge to coordinate ski lifts fur advancing further up the mountain! The ski lifts provided some great views of the mountains, and some much-needed rest for the legs! Ski instructors were great at explaining how to navigate the slopes – using pizza position for slowing/stopping and chips position for stopping across hills.
This ski day was followed by a trip to the bowling arcade, which did not disappoint! The bright lights of the arcade thrilled all with a pupil commenting “everybody was crazy”! This was a great night with everyone mixing together, having laughs and making treasured memories.
Day 3 – Skiing & Pizza evening
Everyone gained more confidence in their skiing abilities on day 3, with more groups advancing on to trickier slopes (red!). The red slopes were slightly steeper and longer than the blue slopes. The red slopes were further up the mountain with more powdery snow. Skiers also had the chance to take a scenic route through the trees. Everyone loved this route!
Everyone was treated to an all-you-can-eat pizza night at an Italian pizzeria. The freshly made pizzas were delicious, with many scrambling to eat as many slices as possible! This was great fuel for our final day on the slopes.
Day 4 – Final Skiing Day & Presentation Evening with hot chocolate
On the final day of skiing, since all had gained confidence in their skiing abilities, pupils were granted permission to take their phones on to the slopes to take some photos. One ski group navigated the full way down the mountain on the last day, completing all the red slopes!
The final day was great fun but overwhelming with emotions on the success of all pupils on the trip and the fact it was almost time to head home! The ski instructors presented pupils with their ski certificates. All pupils gained a recognised skiing level based on their skills demonstrated on the slopes. This was a great presentation with the scenic mountains as a beautiful backdrop for group photos. All were treated to a deliciously thick hot chocolate to round off the ski trip.
After our final trip down the gondola, we took a quick trip to a supermarket and another walk through the town. The supermarket was massive, you could pretty much buy anything from a new tv to a rotisserie chicken! It was really good to experience other cultures and try out some new treats! It was also great to walk through the town again, buying some souvenirs from our trip.
All the staff at Interski spoke highly of the pupils, stating that they rarely see this rate of advancement of ski groups up the slopes in a few days of skiing. They commented on the positive attitudes and behaviour from all and we are all very proud of their accomplishments.
This was a great combined trip by all pupils in both schools. New friendships were formed, staff met with new pupils, and there were plenty of laughs, cheers and celebrations throughout the week! With great new friendships formed, all pupils mixed together whilst travelling, playing cards and having fun on the boat on the way home. This trip was overall a great success between both schools!
Check out our slideshow from the trip using the following link:
