Ski Schools in Flaine

Wanderer wrote:I they take a very rigid approach and will have no qualms about failing a kid at the end of the week

They FAIL kids? Fail them at what? You mean they have a set curriculum and your kids can go on holiday and FAIL at the weekend?
That is total bo****ks.

I would never put my daughter in a ski school that would do that.

My family are there for fun. I don't care if she hasn't reached a certain set standard although i do like to see her progress.
In Arinsal she only did three days of ski school, learnt the snow plough and could turn only one way. She got a certificate and a medal that stated how well she had done.....even though in reality she did pretty poorly.
But she certainly didn't FAIL.

Who do they think they are?

Little W has learnt to ski with the ESf and continues to she has worked her way through their badge system for the last seven years failing to pass only once last year, I to disagreed with the instructor
She should have passed, all the criteria is set out in the ESF stamp book that the kids have.
The Instructor was the same one who would not accept her in her class the previous year as she was too small as there was six foot twelve year olds in the class we battled and won she passed and the older kids failed.
I did complain to the ESF and the tourist board but I did not get a response, so this year LGB lost possible two grand as we changed resorts.
I know the weak areas of Little W skiing and I know if she will pass as I coach her through all the criteria when we ski together in the afternoons, this year she was in an English class of five kids, it seems there were kids in her group who were still snow ploughing perhaps a question of parents putting them in any class these kids certainly slowed the group down and at one stage I considered taking Little W out of the group and asking for a refund. But all ended well.

Snapzzz wrote:

Wanderer wrote:I they take a very rigid approach and will have no qualms about failing a kid at the end of the week

They FAIL kids? Fail them at what? You mean they have a set curriculum and your kids can go on holiday and FAIL at the weekend?
That is total bo****ks.

I would never put my daughter in a ski school that would do that.

My family are there for fun. I don't care if she hasn't reached a certain set standard although i do like to see her progress.
In Arinsal she only did three days of ski school, learnt the snow plough and could turn only one way. She got a certificate and a medal that stated how well she had done.....even though in reality she did pretty poorly.
But she certainly didn't FAIL.

Who do they think they are?

ESF operate a grading system - Snowflake, 1*, 2*, 3* and competition if memory serves. They have set criteria that kids must attain before they "graduate" to the next level. This would appear be be designed to facilitate the assignment of kids to the appropriate class the following year. I agree completely with you about the absurdity of failing kids who are there to enjoy a holiday. I've heard of kids who refused to go into ski school the following year as a result of failing. Presumably French families are happy with the approach!

I ski with my daughter every afternoon and we practice what she has learnt, if you do this your child should not fail

Something that is not talked about when selecting a ski school for beginners, is the teaching method. There are basically three ways to teach beginners, wedge, direct to parallel, and something in between. The advantage of not learning the wedge, is that you don't have to spend years unlearning it, to ski parallel. The disadvantage is that you are more limited in the terrain you can ski, during the learning process. If you intend to make skiing a lifetime sport, I would avoid learning the wedge first. The other methods don't work for everyone, but for most people (esp. children), it removes the barriers to parallel skiing that the wedge ingrains.

Just something to consider.

Trencher wrote:Something that is not talked about when selecting a ski school for beginners, is the teaching method. There are basically three ways to teach beginners, wedge, direct to parallel, and something in between. The advantage of not learning the wedge, is that you don't have to spend years unlearning it, to ski parallel. The disadvantage is that you are more limited in the terrain you can ski, during the learning process. If you intend to make skiing a lifetime sport, I would avoid learning the wedge first. The other methods don't work for everyone, but for most people (esp. children), it removes the barriers to parallel skiing that the wedge ingrains.

Just something to consider.

This is a very good point - when I learned to ski snowplough (wedge) was de rigeur because of the equipment. Now, with modern, short, technologically advanced skis then parallell is the way forward - I've even heard of some schools starting people on snowblades so they can't snowplough

For little W the progression from Snowplough to parallel was not the issue the hardest was getting her forward in her skis, when kids learn these days they let them ski in the back of their skis, by the third ESF star they are expected to get forward which is not natural for them.

Ian Wickham wrote:For little W the progression from Snowplough to parallel was not the issue the hardest was getting her forward in her skis, when kids learn these days they let them ski in the back of their skis, by the third ESF star they are expected to get forward which is not natural for them.

Kids can lean back easily in the wedge position. With the other methods, it is harder to turn, unless the the weight is forward.