Over the autumn term, Year 13 Travel and Tourism students have been investigating Adventure Tourism. They were required to plan and participate in an adventure tourism activity of their choice. After thoroughly investigating all of the potential activities available in the south-east, and taking other factors into consideration, the students drew up a shortlist of horse riding, go-karting and snowboarding. The novelty of a snowboarding lesson really appealed to the students and, with both enthusiasm and commitment, they began planning the trip to The John Nike Lts Chatham Ski Centre. This involved the completion of a detailed risk assessment, calculating the costs involved, making the booking with the centre, drafting parental consent letters, organising transport and formulating contingency plans. Finally, the day that they had been planning finally arrived. The group shared friendly banter on the journey to the ski centre and joked about who would fall over the most! It was clear that the students had every intention of thoroughly enjoying the lesson. However, there was still work to do before the fun started. Upon our arrival the students headed straight for reception to inform them of our arrival. With the business taken care of, everyone began getting kitted out for the lesson. Lauren Guiver posed beside her snowboard highlighting the fact that the snowboard was taller than her whilst Rob Hopkins with a look of sheer horror on this face waded through a large basket of communal gloves in search of a matching pair. Onto the novice slope now and you could sense the nervous excitement! The students seemed to warm to the instructor immediately and he soon had them jumping up and rotating. It was only a matter of time before a fall occurred and Lauren took it with grace. It was amazing to watch the students throughout the hour long private lesson. They were shaky on their feet initially but after some practice they became more confident and the frequency of falls reduced substantially. The students thoroughly enjoyed the lesson especially after some extremely positive feedback from their instructor and they seemed keen to have another go at some other time. The activity brought out the very best of their personalities and I think the students learnt something not only about Adventure Tourism but also about themselves that day. They demonstrated a determination to succeed which motivated them to get straight back up to their feet after every tumble. It also enabled them to laugh at themselves too!Mr A Webster