J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Yes. You can get to some of the ski resorts on the train from London :)

We're not allowed to take our kids out of school for holidays (ski-ing or whatever), in Wales any more. You may get a penalty notice and if you don't pay it then you will be prosecuted in the magistrates court.

http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/i/34484/

Any holidays taken will be put down as unauthorised absence and now, under reinforced Welsh Government rules, parents can be hit with fixed-penalty notices of up to £120 per child for pulling them out of school. The Consortium, made up of six local authority education directors, decided last month that "all absences caused due to pupils being taken on holiday during term time should be deemed to be unauthorised".

Tony_H wrote:You should be fine in Folgarida in February.

Thanks Tony :)

J Webb wrote:Its actually worse than that - it is £60 per parent per pupil!

You mean - if there are 2 parents for one child with an unauthorized absence the fine is £120? It sounds as bad as the Inland Revenue!

I guess this will only encourage us all to become liars and cheats :(

According to this, parents will be fined £60 by the Local Authority for a child's unauthorized absence from school if they pay within 21 days, and £120 if they pay within 28 days.

I suppose there could be lots of other unauthorized reasons that parents want to pull their kids out of school - like babysitting younger siblings, working on the farm, caring for a relative etc. etc. And I suppose the government is trying to crack down on all of these, including absence for ski holidays.
When my kids were young we were allowed to take them out of school for family holidays of up to 10 days per year, if we couldn't take the holiday at any other time - and I used to fill in a form to make sure these holiday absences were authorized before we went. It seems the law has changed.

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/behaviour/attendance/a00223868/regulations-amendments

I had a nasty letter from the school once, threatening me with jail etc. because my older daughter's attendance rate was only 80%.
The reason for this was because she'd been very ill, and she'd had many visits to the hospital and GP etc. and she was 'under' the paediatrician. And all her absences were 'authorized' as in I had written to the school on each occasion and explained that she was ill.

So - as someone else said what really matters is the total school attendance rate your kids have, and if it drops below the minimum level then you may well be investigated by the local authorities and get a visit from a social worker or someone like that.

I complained about my letter, to the headmistress and she said she didn't know anything about it, but I pointed out that her signature was on the bottom of the letter! And they never did put me in jail or anything, thank goodness.

And when my kids were young (and healthy) I did used to take them out of school for 5 days per year to go ski-ing, and I'm quite sure their education never suffered from this at all :)

Shipjack - I actually got to the Eurostar ticket barrier in Paris Nord in time to catch the 08-13, but they wouldn't let me through because my ticket said 08-43 :(

However, I think if I'd been booked on the 08-13 but missed it because the sleeper was delayed, they would have let me on the 08-43. They don't seem to guarantee this, but I reckon it usually works out like that. Perhaps someone else who frequently goes on these trains knows?

Before I booked my train tickets I looked at this website and they recommend allowing 1.5 to 2 hours for getting between Paris Nord and Austerlitz:

http://www.snowcarbon.co.uk/train-guides/change-in-paris/paris-austerlitz-paris-nord

Hi Shipjack, I hope you enjoy your train journey :)
I would do it again, quite happily :)

Looking at my paperwork, I did the sleeper on the return journey. I got the Altibus down from Tignes to Bourg, had supper there, and then got in the sleeper which actually arrived a lot earlier than the time it said on my ticket, which was 20-05.
I was a bit worried about making sure I got in the right carriage, so I asked the French railway staff for help and in any case they were standing on the platform checking off everyone and their tickets on their list.
I think getting on the train early is a good idea because it means you have a chance to get your luggage in the limited storage space.
I was fairly crafty (I thought) and I had supper and brushed my teeth before I got on the train, and prepared to sleep in my clothes. Everyone seemed to just try and go to sleep as soon as they got on the train.
It got in to Paris Austerlitz at 06-31 on time, and they announced the fact that they were about to arrive about 10 minutes before so that everyone had time to wake up etc.
I was in a mixed carriage/couchette - 4 men and 2 women - but this didn't really bother me, and I slept very well.

I got a taxi from Austerlitz to Paris Nord because I'd read something that said there were a lot of stairs if you tried to go on the underground. I've forgotten how much the taxi charged me, but I know it was pretty cheap.
And then when I got to Paris Nord I had plenty of time to get changed, brush teeth, eat breakfast etc. before the Eurostar left at 08-43. And I arrived back in St Pancras at 10 a.m. I could really have booked the earlier Eurostar, but I thought I'd leave plenty of time in case the sleeper was delayed, or I got stuck in traffic or something going between the 2 stations in Paris.

I went out on the Saturday direct day train but I got my 8 days ski-ing by staying in a hotel in Bourg over Saturday night.