expensive school trips - worth it?

We went to Florida with our school - it was about £1k in 2002, it was amazing - we did all the parks and NASA - we didn't learn one dot about anything and it was 10 days out of school (plus 2 at the end for each of us) I honestly don't know how the staff swung that one "well head teacher we had a meeting and instead of aushwitz we thought maybe Florida?" no wonder there was about 5 members of staff and 8 girls ha ha ha

10y DD (y5) is off to France for 4 days on Tuesday. That's cost us about £300 I think. It isn't compulsory as such but every child in y5 and y6 are going (small school). In y3 and 4 DD's residentials (Centre parcs for 4 days) have been about £200.

Secondary is just going to get dearer and dearer I suspect. Good job we only have the one child!!!

wow, just have not entered this world, yet. Makes me hopeful that getting DS's passport will be worth the ridiculous effort required, at least.

I think local HS went to Italy recently & I thought that was quite ambitious. When I was a teen we went from California to Washington DC for 3 or 4 nights. That's the only trip I can ever remember out of town in 6 yrs of secondary.

I agree with you Ariel and Shaka. We are lucky that grandparents will help. Apart from that we would be struggling tbh. The whole school trip thing seems to have got out of hand. I never went on a single trip as my Mum was a widow soI am very thrilled that our DDs are getting the things I didn't get iyswim

We let DS go on the ski trip every year (we are poor ski-ers) about £1000, he also does something educational such as: French Exchange, Pompeii, Berlin, etc..

DD does similar.

However, the jaw dropping one in this house was the £3,300 trip to the Galapagos Islands for the Biologists!!

My dcs are years 1 and 3. my dd in year three is off on a mon-weds residential at a pgl place. The cost is £140 they run this trip every year so have 3 more years of it and double cost in another year when they can both go. im dreading year 7 trips.

This thread is making me weep. I will never be able to afford these sorts of prices for school trips :( but definitely won't qualify for assistance.

Sigh.

When I was at school the GCSE trip was a day to Portsmouth to see the Mary Rose. I don't think we even had one at A level, apart from a day to London to hear JJ Scarisbrick lecture.

HOw times have changed.

I mean

The form asks about criminal convictions (of the kids, not the parents!) so it must be somewhere that Young Offenders go. It asks loads of stuff about what challenging activities the DCs have done - can't put anything down tbh [embarrassed]

Or do you mean compulsory as in they try to get everyone to go and those (few) left have to do special activities at school? My DS did similar and it was very very good, I really like Outwoods Bound. Dd is doing a slightly cheaper one.

You must paying for private education anyway if £480 is compulsory.

The most fantastic value. I can't praise them highly enough! It would do every DC in the country good to go on one- does wonders for their self esteem.

Six days in Ullswater £480. It is an Outward Bound place and my idea of hell!
The school say it is compulsory but I do wonder what value they get out of it. This will have to be the DDs main holiday for this year. DH and I will stay home and work instead this year.

Wow. Mine are not yet in primary but think I will have to start saving now!

Will wave to mummy and Sparklings DCs when they are in Shropshire. Hope the river level has dropped by then if they are going canoeing!!!!

State schools, if private we couldn't afford them! DS also went to Switzerland with the Scouts.

Most State schools I think, fromheretomaternity.

Blimey!!!! Are these for state schools or private? I can't believe these prices!

When I was a kid our school trip was camping in the rain and one dirt cheap and fairly unpleasant ski trip. obviously things have changed!

thewashfairy DD goes to Switzerland next year with Scouts too.

Am shocked at £650 for the Lake District. I live very close to Lakes - can see hills on drive to school. I'm paying £650 for DD to have ten days in Spain on school band trip.

DD1 did history trip to america in yr12. Was v good. Can't recall cost but it was relevent to studies as well as a jolly. She also did berlin/concentration camps etc

Ds has done the battle fields. THat was so worthwhile. Everyone should go and remember (concentration camps too- I will one day). He looked for 2 of my mums relatives and found their stories/graves- very moving.

I have always tried to let mine do it if they were keen and I wouldn't say no because we could do it as a family. My school trips are good memories even now, I am old too and did the school cruise, my parents paid.
Collectively mine have been to Canada, Russia, Iceland, French war graves, French exchange and several outdoor adventure centres. We also turned some down as too expensive. My reasoning was that we were not paying school fees or tutors so we could take advantage of the extras.

I so disagree with that RivesideMum.Yes I'm old, the school trip I'm going to refer to was a school cruise on the SS Uganda, cost was GBP75. I had to pay half. So I baby sat in addtion to my chores at home, did my Friday night Saturday day job in a shop, washed cars, mowed grass (even though I suffer from the worst hay fever ever), did ironing for neighbours and anything else I could find to do and studied for 10 GCE's. I was GBP5 short of the half way mark and my mum still said no. At this point I must say we were not poor (mother head teacher, father bank manager) did not live beyond their/our means. to be honest I'm not sure to this day what else I could have done to earn more money and keep studying.
In the end my grandma gave me the money but my mother was not happy and I had to repay it as soon as I got back. Also I must add that it wasnt that she didnt want me to go, after all these years I just think she didnt want to back down about her rules.

Call me Scrooge - but I've always made my children pay half the money for their trips (ever since junior school when they did PGL etc). That is a good filter for whether they are really keen to go.

said sail