Children's Ski School in Meribel
Most ski instructors wouldn’t recommend your child starts skiing before the age of three or four at the earliest (and five for snowboarding). The right age will vary from child to child, and depends upon the child’s strength, co-ordination and attitude. For this age group skiing should remain a play activity, so don't expect a young child to ski all day - a couple of hours is ample.Share this page
SnowSystems is a French school but only offers lessons in English for children aged between 4-5 and 6-12 years; Parallel Lines offer lessons for children aged 6 and over, and Euro Ski Adventure take children between 3-5 and 6-12 years (these companies are all English-speaking).
Magic Snowsports Academy run exclusively English-speaking ski school lessons for children aged 4 to 17 over during the school holidays. They guarantee a maximum class size of 6 for the younger children (4-6 years) and 8 for the older groups.
New Generation also offer English-speaking children’s lessons during the holiday periods. Children are taken from 4-5 years (maximum of 6 per group), and 6-12 years (maximum of 8 per group).
The French Ski School (ESF) can’t guarantee English speaking classes, but almost all of their children’s instructors speak some English and classes are often mixed with French and English children learning alongside each other. During the UK school holidays it is unusual not to find several English speaking children in each group. The French Ski School take children from 5 to 13.
It is strongly recommended to pre-book ski school for the busy New Year and February school holiday period as classes are often fully booked many weeks in advance.
Please see our Ski/Snowboard Schools listings for contact details of all the schools mentioned above.
Other Ski Activities for Kids in Meribel
The après ski fun isn’t just confined to the adults. The Tourist Office organises a wealth of activities to keep children amused off the slopes; including street entertainments, games and torch lit descents. Check out our What's On calendar to find out what is scheduled for your visit.
Tobogganing is always a hit with the kids, and most ski hire shops will rent toboggans for a minimal charge - but make sure you keep off the main pistes! For other activities in resort, have a look at our page on Winter Activities.
ESF Childrens Ski School in Meribel
Ecole du Ski Français (ESF) is the biggest and most well-known ski school in France; if you or your children have taken lessons in France before then it was most likely with them. Every ESF school offers special children’s’ lessons, aimed at kids aged from 3 years and up. The vast majority of ESF instructors speak good English (and most clubs offer instruction in a variety of international languages). Classes tend to be a mix of mostly French and English children, the ratio varying according to school holidays.
Club des Piou-Piou
Aimed at 3 to 6 year olds the Piou-Piou kids club gives little ones their first experience of skiing in the safety of the ‘Jardin de Neige’ snow garden. Here they will find magic carpets to take them gently up the slope and a number of obstacles to challenge them on their way back down. This is all carried out under the careful supervision of qualified and experienced ESF instructors. The half-day sessions are broken up with snack breaks and games to keep children entertained and make their first days on skis fun. Your child will be awarded one of 3 medals at the end of their stay.
Older Children’s Lessons
For children aged 7 years and over the lessons become more focussed; giving them greater challenges yet retaining the element of fun with games, races and competitions. At this stage the children will be split up according to age and ability and medals will be awarded according to what standard they have reached. When registering your child for lessons it is important to inform the ESF of any previous skiing experience your child has, so that they will be put into the most appropriate group.
The Medals
The first 3 medals are gained in the snow garden and demonstrate that your child has mastered the basics of skiing on a nursery slope; this includes slowing down, stopping, small turns and using the magic carpet and the drag lift. To gain the Ourson and Flocon badges your child should first have passed the previous stages.
Piou-Piou: This badge is the first one and is awarded to all children who complete a week of ski school.
Ourson (Teddy Bear): (If your child is over the age of 7 they can go straight to this badge without needing to complete the Piou-Piou). Your child must be able to:
- Recognise his/her ski equipment
- Put on and take off his/her skis by him/herself
- Has used some ski lifts already
- Control his/her speed and complete snaking turns
- Move around on skis in different ways over varied but almost flat terrain
- Ski with skis parallel straight downhill and stop using a snowplough turn
Flocon (Snowflake): Your child must be able to:
- Control his/her speed and cross the fall line using snowplough turns
- Retain his/her balance while sliding faster with skis parallel both across and down the slope, on both skis or from one ski to the other, over smooth terrain on a gentle slope
- Brake and stop and is starting to be able to sideslip
1ère Etoile (1st Star):
- Can complete a series of elementary sideslip turns taking into account external factors (terrain profile, other users, snow quality, etc.)
- Retains his/her balance when sliding across gentle to moderately steep slopes
- Is starting to be able to sideslip (uphill swing, at an angle)
2ème Etoile (2nd Star):
- Can complete a series of smooth elementary turns, crossing the fall line with skis parallel and can complete turns with an uphill swing taking into account external factors (terrain profile, other users, snow quality, etc.)
- Can ski over hollows and bumps, across or down the slope, while retaining his/her balance
3ème Etoile (3rd Star):
- Can complete a series of short- and medium-radius basic turns with skis parallel, taking into account and compensating for external factors (terrain, users, type of snow, etc.)
- Can maintain his/her balance in a schuss over varied terrain (hollows and bumps)
- Is improving his/her lateral balance using successions of sideslips interspersed with direct traversing lines (garlands)
Etoile de Bronze (Bronze Star):
- Can complete smoother basic turns by reducing sideslip
- Can ski using high-speed and broad turns taking into account and compensating for external factors (terrain, users, type of snow, etc.)
- Can maintain his/her balance in a schuss when taking off from rounded bumps, on piste or in a specially prepared area such as a skiercross courses
- Is getting used to skiing in all kinds of snow
Etoile d’Or (Gold Star):
- Is gaining experience with all forms of alpine skiing
- Can ski down pistes with a large vertical drop without stopping, on all types of snow, taking into account external factors and respecting the rules of conduct for skiers
- Can ski in a specially prepared area: skiercross course, halfpipe
To find your nearest ESF branch please see our Ski/Snowboard Schools listings page.
Making The Most of Your Family Ski Holiday
Ski holidays are so much fun for the whole family and with planning can be an amazing experience for all age groups! In young children, travel to any new environment may result in changes in sleep patterns, appetite, activity and mood. Here are a few ways to help making the most of your family holiday:
more »