With slightly better weather this morning we headed up the mountain to Kleinarl to play in the fun park. With fresh powder under our skis we all skied the red down to the café for a quick hot chocolate. All groups then headed over the peak to tackle the fun park and extreme powder. Group four managed a couple of jumps and the headed down their first ski route of the week. Group three followed also having fun in the deep snow and group two weren’t too far behind. Group one spent most of the day playing on the jumps, in the deep powder and in the half pipe! There should be some good photos in the gallery later.

In the afternoon we headed down the mountain with the beginners, who have improved so much they are more improvers now. The other groups had a couple of extra runs before skiing all the way down to the bottom.

It’s the presentation evening tonight so we will be giving out certificates and awards across all the groups and some fancy dress prizes too.

Tomorrow is our last day on the slopes and we are heading back to Zauchensee. This will probably be the last blog of the week so we hope you have enjoyed following our adventures every day and we look forward to seeing you all at Notley High School on Saturday morning to collect your children. We will send out a school comms message when we reach English soil. We are hoping to arrive approximately 9.30am so please make sure you have your mobiles switched on to receive the message.

Note from Geek: I've uploaded all the presentation photos and about a third of the Kleinarl ones I took (haven't even started on the other staff's shots yet!) Much as I love editing photos and generally geeking out it's now midnight for the third night in a row and I'm falling asleep at my keyboard. The other shots will have to wait until we get back to school. I'll make sure all the students get a disc with all the master shots so please chivvy them to look out for a message on the screens round the school. Hope you've enjoyed the uploaded photos - there will be many more on the disc!

Day four dawned overcast, snowing and windy. We headed up to Zauchensee for the day. Everyone had entered into the fun of Fancy Dress day and we certainly brightened the day for everyone on the slopes. Many of us were asked for photos and lots of people were commenting throughout the day. The outfits included a bunch of bananas, a number of Where’s Wally, Mario and Luigi, a Scotsman, a Mexican, Banana Man, Maid Marion, a parrot, Hula girls, a cow, Harry Potter, Batman and Robin a cowboy and his horse and a colony of penguins to name but a few!

All groups skied in difficult conditions with strong wind blowing fresh snow covering tracks as soon as they were made. Group one skied at a more sedate pace considering the conditions but still managed to take in blacks, and reds around the resort. Groups two and three stuck mainly to reds and blues trying to stay out of the wind on the more sheltered runs. Group four practised their technique on the cruisey blue coping well with the fresh snow.

Many stops were made for hot chocolate and we all had a good long lunch. With some of the lifts closed due to the wind we had limited runs to choose from in the afternoon. It was a short afternoon as children were cold and wet from all the snow. We finished the day with a red run for all the groups together. This made a good photo opportunity for Mr Rowe who managed to snap a few through the falling snow.

We returned to the hotel for a little down time and a short revision session for the Yr 10 and 11’s. After dinner we are heading out to do some ice bowling, a little like curling we think!!

Hope you enjoy the photos from the day!

Note from Geek - actually shortly after this was written we had to cancel the ice bowling as the weather deteriorated and there was no guarantee that if we had gone that we could have got back. The students therefore had a bit of unscheduled social time and I managed to catch up on editing and uploading photos. Swings and roundabouts...

We woke to grey skies and snow this morning and it didn’t stop all day. This meant fresh powder and lots of fun. We skied at Flachau today, new slopes and new snow. The beginners had a hard day skiing tackling some steeper slopes and really persevered with their technique. Group three skied everywhere skiing both sides of the mountain and exploring the deep snow. Group two really put on the speed  giving group one a run for their money. They too explored most of the mountain skiing both sides into Flachau and Wagrain. Group one spent time in the powder and playing on the bumps getting some air under their skis. All groups had a great day in hard conditions. We have had a few bumps but nothing serious!

This evening we went to Flachau to ride the Lucky Flitzer which is a bit like a roller coaster with brakes (not that they were used much!!) There were lots of smiles and screams and some went so fast they beat the camera!

Tomorrow we are back at Zauchensee for Fancy dress day. One (un)lucky student without a costume is wearing all four wally outfits just so he doesn’t feel left out. Look forward to the photos, I am sure they will be entertaining!

Another great day today with cold weather and clear skies. The beginners ventured onto the steeper blues exploring new parts of the mountain. All have improved and made lots of progress. Group three have been all over the resort playing in the deep snow and having fun on reds and blues. We even conquered a short back on the last run! Group two were more adventurous tackling the ski route and the moguls. They covered many miles and improved their technique in the deeper snow. Group one skied their legs off all around the resort following the world cup run, the ski route and all the blacks.

After a fantastic but tiring day we all came off the mountain and had a quick trip to the spa to stock up on Milka chocolate!

Following another fantastic dinner we went swimming where the ones still with energy to burn played in the waves and the flumes and the staff watched in the comfort of the Jacuzzi pool!

Tomorrow we are off to Flachau for the day and are hoping for warmer weather and sunshine.

Note from Geek: We love you posting your comments on the blog; the more the merrier. However since this is a public website we check every comment before making them visible so be patient - they will show up! Also, keep checking previous days' galleries as I don't always have enough time to upload them all on the same day.

We have had a fantastic first day with the best beginners group ever!  The top group have zoomed around the mountain taking in blues, red, blacks and a few jumps along the way. Groups 2 and 3 have been mostly on reds getting used to their skis again and having lots of fun!The beginners started on the nursery slope this morning and then ventured to the top of the mountain for a lovely cruise down the blue. All the kids have been great and we are all looking forward to going tubing this evening.

The weather today has been fairly sunny but very cold with temperatures of -20 in the shade. The kids coped really well and kept moving/ falling down to keep themselves warm!

Keep an eye on the galleries - there will be plenty of pictures uploaded once we've sorted them out!