A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and established these methods as teaching principles for all ski instructors at his school.
In alpine skiing in North America, many resorts have their own ski school. In Europe, a resort may have many different private ski schools. Instructors are trained and certified by their national organizations, for example in Canada the Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance, in the US by the Professional Ski Instructors of America, which may certify their instructors in an international level, which is overseen by the International Ski Instructors Alliance.
Lessons can be in a group or private. Instruction can take place on the slopes or with the help of ski simulators.
The largest ski school company in Europe is the École du Ski Français, a French ski school founded by Émile Allais.