Snowsports and inner-city youth are two things not typically associated with one another, with a trip to a ski resort largely the stuff of dreams for most.

But for two Northolt youngsters, that dream became a reality last week as they got to work at the very heart of the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships in Tignes.

Aimee Hudgell and Lewis Young are apprentices with Snow-Camp, a charity whose mission is to engage inner-city young people through snowsports in order to boost their motivation and aspirations for the future.

Providing skills training, qualifications and vocational opportunities, Snow-Camp helps its members turn their lives around, while developing their love for sports they most likely would never have experienced.

Hudgell and Young, 18 and 21 respectively, were two of four apprentices to head out to the French Alps, where they helped organisers with everything from slipping the course to timekeeping.

During their time in Tignes, they also met HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and the boys insist their lives would have been so different without the opportunities Snow-Camp has gifted them.

“I was in college studying make-up, but it wasn’t really the job I wanted to do,” said Hudgell, a former Brentside High School pupil.

“I enjoyed it enough to do it, but it was more just to stop me from lazing around and getting in with the wrong crowd.

“During the summer of 2015, a youth club that I go to on my estate told me of an opportunity to go skiing with Snow-Camp.

“I actually ended up really loving it, even though I didn’t go with the intention of getting into the snowsports industry.

“Snow-Camp has given me a career and a brighter future, and a lot of confidence too. I get to meet loads of incredible people, but before I started, I was so quiet, so I have really come out my shell.

“My future looks so much better now, and a lot more fun too.”

Young added: “When I was about nine, my dad left us and I didn’t really cope well with it, especially in school.

“I got kicked out of two before I was sent to boarding school, where I was introduced to skiing.

“When I left school, I became a bit of a recluse and didn’t leave my house for two years. I had no friends around my area.

“Snow-Camp has really changed my life. If I hadn’t found it, I would have been looking for a job that just paid me money, but now, I look for something that I enjoy doing.

“This is a career that I have wanted to do since I was young. I have learnt so much.”

Established in 2003 by Dan Charlish, Snow-Camp has gone on to help more than 7,500 young people, transforming lives up and down the country.

And after witnessing first hand the impact his charity has had, Charlish couldn’t have been prouder of his young apprentices.

“They have been so impressive. We’ve had so much positive feedback from organisers and I’m so proud because this is such a strange situation for them,” he said.

“We’re in an intense, competitive environment and we’re with people who are not the apprentices’ normal community.

“They are definitely fish out of water but they have thrown themselves into it, they’ve been open to anything anyone wants them to do, and they’ve had some fantastic experiences along the way.

“I’m so proud of the way they have represented the charity – they are the guys at the real business end of what Snow-Camp does.

“They show the potential of Snow-Camps and snowsports in general to turn inner-city kids around.”

To follow the Delancey British Alpine Ski Team visit www.teambss.org.uk or follow @teambss on Twitter. As Principal Sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard, specialist real estate investment and advisory company Delancey is proud to be able to support British athletes – visit www.delancey.com