An Alpine ski school geared towards the needs of English-speaking children sends Hannah Stephenson’s family into snow heaven.

It’s an inescapable fact for ski-loving parents: children can make or break your winter fun on the slopes.

Aside from obvious calamities like breaking limbs, you run into scenarios such as kids returning from their first day at ski school hollering that they don’t want to go back the next day.

In several French resorts, my children, William and Grace, have moaned that instructors don’t speak English and large classes are full of French and German youngsters who they can’t communicate with.

On one occasion they complained so bitterly that we took them out of ski school and put them into private lessons, which they enjoyed even though the instructor only spoke a few words of English.

This year, in our chosen resort of Les Deux Alpes in the Southern Alps, we planned to do the same if our kids hated ski school. I was waiting for the grumbles and groans after the first lesson.

So I could hardly believe my ears when William, 11, returned from his class saying he definitely didn’t want private lessons as ski school was so much fun.

The reason? The independent European Ski & Snowboard School (ESS), set up around 15 years ago by Englishman Jeremy Edwards and operating exclusively in Les Deux Alpes, offers what is lacking in many other ski resorts.

All the instructors speak good English and those who don’t are sent on an intensive English course by the company before they start. ESS serves most British tour operators in Les Deux Alpes, including Crystal and Neilson, so most kids who attend are English and make friends quickly.

William’s instructor, Luca, an Italian hunk with corkscrew curls, dressed in the company’s trademark bright blue ski suit, was laughing and joking with the children when I picked them up on the first day.

ESS instructor Rob Frazer, originally from Scotland, explains: “British children feel more comfortable in an English-speaking environment. It’s intimidating to be thrown into a big class of kids and instructors who don’t speak their language.”

Qualifications

The qualifications British instructors need to work in France are exceptionally high. Many ESS instructors are Italian as their teaching licences are accepted in France — but all have a good knowledge of English.

With a maximum of nine to a ski class (four for snowboarders) in ESS, my children had plenty of opportunities to ski directly behind the instructor, rather than being swamped in larger classes, where they so often ended up hanging around waiting for stragglers or being pushed to the back, unable to see what they were supposed to be doing.

The lessons may have been brilliant, but so was the resort. Les Deux Alpes is a gem for skiers of all abilities and is just over an hour’s drive from Grenoble and an hour-and-a-half from the Italian border.

Built in 1946, its name is derived from its location between two villages, Venosc and Mont de Lans, and it is France’s second oldest ski resort behind Chamonix.

The hotels are largely situated in one long strip at the foot of the ski area at 1,650m, where learners can find their ski legs on the nursery slopes.

Further access to the mountain is gained by taking a lift from the base stations along the strip. The little white egg lifts will take you to Les Cretes at 2,100m, where you’ll find the ski school meeting point and plenty of shorter runs on which to practice. Alternatively, take a lift straight up to the glacier, the biggest skiable glacier in Europe, at 3,600m.

Pied Moutet is a separate mountain opposite the main ski area, with shorter and less crowded runs for novices and intermediates.

Remember to dress warmly for the glacier. While it was relatively mild in the town, a few thousand metres up it was freezing, so layered clothing is a must.

Once near the top of the glacier we used long button lifts to get up the main slopes, but a little funicular railway tunnelled under the ice takes you slightly further.

At the top, you can admire panoramic views of the area, including Mont Blanc, some 62 miles away, and the neighbouring ski haven of Alpe d’Huez.

Les Deux Alpes is an unusual resort in that the higher you go, the easier the slopes become, with plenty of green and blues at the top.

But there is skiing for all abilities, with 137 miles of pisted runs and off-piste opportunities for the more experienced skiers, including the most famous off-piste area of La Grave, which you can access from the top lift at the Dome de la Lauze.

There’s also a snowpark at 2,600m with challenges for all levels, including a pipe with a 22ft curve and a six metre-high wall. It’s hardly surprising that over the years Les Deux Alpes has become a leader in freestyle and freeride.

While operators boast you can ski to the door, it’s not always easy. Two runs leading to the base – one black, one green – are often rutted and busy at the height of season, so we preferred to take the lift back down to our hotel.

There are day trips to nearby resorts including Alpe d’Huez. We plumped for Serre Chevalier, around an hour-and-a-half away by bus on a twisting road – but it was worth it.

Serre Chevalier offers a wealth of intermediate skiing, with fantastically wide runs, an easy lift system and spectacular tree-lined mountain scenery.

The pistes were so good, the children were able to ski down a black run back to base relatively easily. As the runs are so wide, you never felt like it was busy and we hope to return one day for a longer stay.

At the end of a busy week, we all gathered in a local bar for the ski school presentation, where certificates and medals were handed out and the children could watch themselves on a video which showed their progress through the week.

“Make sure if we go skiing again, we come with this ski school,” William insisted. If only life were always that easy.

Travel facts

• Hannah Stephenson travelled to Les Deux Alpes with Crystal Ski, which offers seven nights’ catered chalet accommodation (breakfast, afternoon tea and cake, evening meals with free wine) at the Crystal Club Hotel La Brunerie from £585 per adult (limited free child places up to 11), return flights ex-Gatwick and transfers.

• Among 12 regional departure airports, supplements include Manchester (£39), Glasgow (£49), Birmingham and Bristol (£29).
• Six-day lift pass costs £176 per adult, £142 per child (5-12).
• Lessons with ESS (European Ski & Snowboard School) cost £146 for five sessions each lasting two hours, 45 minutes.
• Crystal reservations: 0871 231 2256 and www.crystalski.co.uk