Family ski holidays: Adding exam-preparation classes to the curriculum

The idea throws up an interesting prospect for those in the ski business infuriated by the prohibition against taking children out of school in term-time

Bright idea: Students can study and ski in Val d'Isère next Easter (Andy Parant)

With every new season comes a portfolio of enticements from ski companies eager to stimulate holiday bookings. Most of them are financial, but some companies have an imaginative streak: and this season it is Inghams, with its partner brand in the Hotelplan UK group, Ski Total, which has come up with the most unusual offers.

The promise of a free one-hour session on an indoor ski slope in the UK will tempt some rusty skiers to buy a holiday. And though it is advisable to exercise before a trip, skiers lacking core body strength may find the holiday weeks with free daily pilates sessions appealing. The most creative inducement, however, are the Revise & Ski weeks (reviseandski.com/inghams) offered by both brands in Val d'Isère over the Easter period, abhorrent though they will seem to secondary-school students.

The idea of adding exam-preparation classes to the ski holiday curriculum was brought to Andy Perrin, Hotelplan UK's chief executive, by Alex Dyer, the managing director of the Tutor House company in London.

Under the arrangement made with Perrin, Inghams and Ski Total do the tour operating, and Tutor House does the schooling, as an add-on priced at £500 per week (if booked before 8 February). The courses, designed primarily to prepare students for GCSE, A-level and 13+ entrance exams, are available for the weeks starting 19 and 26 March and 2 April; lessons take place in the Val d'Isère conference centre, five days a week, at 8-11am and 4.30-6.30pm.

The idea of Revise & Ski throws up an interesting prospect for those in the ski business who are infuriated by the prohibition against taking children out of school in term-time for family ski holidays, backed as it is by £50-per-day fines. Might a school permit term-time absence for a child who was tutored? “A handful of parents have asked about that,” says Dyer, “and I do know of one instance when it did happen.”