SEVENTEEN students and two staff met at 10.30am in the car park, facing 920 miles of travel to get to the promised land of snow and mountains — Italy, writes science teacher and head of careers and raising aspirations, Mike Greig.

The students had all done a massive amount of preparation work prior to the trip, weekly meetings to discuss safety on the slopes, how the Gondola works, where to put skis and snowboards, how to get on and off ski lifts, but more importantly helping each other to raise money — this is certainly not a cheap sporting experience!

Once again we needed to collect the same school as last year from Warminster and then headed to the gateway of Europe — Dover.

By 6pm, the thrill of travelling by bus to Italy had almost worn off, but a fun hour exploring the ferry always raises the spirits.

The following leg of the trip across France and into Italy takes place overnight, but by far the most spectacular part of the trip is the long tunnel into Italy — as you emerge from the tunnel early morning, you are hit with a full Narnia-type winter wonderland scene of snow-covered mountains, Alpine valleys and a true sense of what a ski trip actually offers.

Our arrival in Pila at midday was followed by a really slick operation of fitting skis, boots and snowboards, followed by a traditional pasta meal in a local restaurant.

The hotel was typically European with tiled floors, tiny elevator and cosy rooms. At least there was hot water and decent showers! Twenty-two hours of coach travel needed to be washed off before bed.

The food was generally good, pasta starter and a meat dish to follow with assorted fruit and a dessert.

Six full days of skiing saw a massive improvement in all of the students. A huge snowfall on the very first day made the visibility poor, but the skiing and boarding great. There was enough snow to make the rest of the week perfect.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.