(Pictured above: Duke of Edinburgh participants cooking field recipe)
Last weekend the Student Life Programme was extremely active, with two popular school trips under way: the Duke of Edinburgh International Award initial training weekend, and the Ski Team Tryout weekend.
Last weekend we kicked off our Silver and Gold Award training in the Bavarian foothills. Based in the youth hostel in Lenggries, participants dove deep into navigation and orienteering skills, practising pacing, micro-navigation and the art of relocation. They cooked camp meals, testing and reviewing various trekking recipes. On Saturday evening, all groups braved the rain and the dark, successfully navigating around the area for a night hike. Sunday saw all participants taking a chance to lead their group, journeying through forests, along ridges and peaks, putting their skills into practice and testing their gear in cool and wet conditions. Good job, teams Silver and Gold for the enthusiasm and positive start to your new Award journey!
Thank you to Mhairi Ziegler and Armin Martin for their time and effort this weekend in supporting the students with their progress toward their Award.
Meanwhile, our Ski Team applicants travelled to Hintertux in Austria to spend the weekend under the expert eyes of the coaching team from the Austria Racing Camp, who were assessing their suitability to join the team.
The athletes spent Saturday on the glacier in perfect weather conditions, but the icy slopes offered plenty of challenge for their ski racing skills. This was followed by a dryland training session and a video analysis workshop. In the evening, the coaches ran a theory lesson in which the student athletes were shown how to improve their timing & line, and studied videos of world-class skiers in action to learn from their techniques.
On Sunday morning the athletes hit the slopes once again and experienced some different conditions: fresh snow and very, very challenging visibility! The coaches were impressed with the level of ski racing skill demonstrated by our students and we are delighted to report that everyone who tried out made the team for 2023-24!
The Ski Team now look forward to a busy season of six more training camps with ARC, plus three races in which to compete against other schools. Thank you to our chaperones, Johannes Wohlleb and Marguerite Zabrieskie, for their commitment to chaperone the season and their dedication to fostering team spirit amongst our young ski racers.