Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

The cost of school trips in independent schools

153 replies

UkraineQueen · 14/05/2019 10:10

I have just moved DS to an independent school, due to problems he was having at his old state secondary.

One of the things I am genuinely shocked at is how much cheaper the school trips are in the independent school. For example, a 3-day trip to Germany at his old school was going to cost £800. The trip to Paris at the new independent school will be £600 for 6 days. Both trips involved flights and a stay at 2 star hotel accommodation.

I am wondering now why school trips in state schools are so expensive, or is it just that our experiences aren't typical of the norm?

OP posts:
Pinkyyy · 14/05/2019 15:18

@TeenTimesTwo you've made quite a good point there actually, I hadn't considered the other hotel guests. I just wouldn't want my DC to 'slum it' as bad as it sounds.

I'm glad yours have all been quite educational, I've heard lots of parents telling me that they've been disappointed with the lack of this on their DC's trips. I imagine that varies school to school though.

MariaNovella · 14/05/2019 15:20

School trips and outings linked to the curriculum are just wonderful. This week my DD is going on a guided tour of architecture of the Middle Ages, linked to History of Art in her RE class, and next week she is going to Caen, linked to study of WW2 in History (the year group went to Reims earlier this year for WW1). But I am no fan of thinly disguised holidays sold as school trips and, indeed, have refused to send my DD on them.

Pinkyyy · 14/05/2019 15:20

@BertrandRussell okay you are entitled to your opinion.

@MariaNovella I would be beside myself if my DC was in US and I was back in England. Paris doesn't seem so bad as I can get there relatively quickly in case of an emergency but I'd have spent 3 weeks worried sick!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

General education Private schooling
MariaNovella · 14/05/2019 15:22

Fair enough! I’ve always been pretty relaxed about my DD travelling alone but I know not everyone is.

dreichuplands · 14/05/2019 15:22

I think being nervous about your dc going away without you is natural but not being able to control that enough to let them go isn't.

Pinkyyy · 14/05/2019 15:23

Perhaps it's my upbringing then, DH is of the same opinion though. Will have to wait and see whether DCs go to secondary school and cross that bridge when/if we come to it.

dreichuplands · 14/05/2019 15:26

My dc 10 are going to fly transatlantic by themselves for the first time, dh and I have some twinges about this but they are super excited. Part of being a parent is about encouraging and supporting independence.
I also think roughing it is an excellent life experience, what are we doing to our dc if they think every hotel is 4 star or that every flight is business class and has a lounge. What happens when they have to pay for their first holiday on an entry level wage?

Hollowvictory · 14/05/2019 15:26

Poor pinky, upbringing stops you from allowing your kids on trips. Feel for you, do you gave anxiety?

Pinkyyy · 14/05/2019 15:30

@dreichuplands for me, 10 is way too young, especially to be going transatlantic. They don't go through life expecting everything to be 5 star, they know they're lucky kids and that one day they'll have to pay for it themselves.

@Hollowvictory no I don't have anxiety. But the thought of them going away with people I don't know very well or even at all, certainly gives me an anxious feeling.

Ragwort · 14/05/2019 15:34

I am amusing myself thinking about children on a PGL type school trip demanding ‘room service’ Grin.
My DS has been fortunate enough to go on lots of school trips, including three ski trips, always budget, hostel type accommodation with up to seven or eight boys sharing a room. Last time the room was so small they had to store their clothes & belongings elsewhere, they all had a great time.

BertrandRussell · 14/05/2019 15:38

“slum it”...

TeenTimesTwo · 14/05/2019 15:38

Pinkyyy It is usual to feel anxious the first time they stay away on a school trip. But they go, have a great time with their friends, and next time it doesn't seem so scary.
Also when they are e.g. 5 it is very difficult to realise how they will be when 10, or 14.

DD2's first trip was Isle of Wight in y5 - 6 to a room, on a PGL type thing. It was so good for her - really boosted her confidence. Then she had Paris in y7 - they could wander around very defined areas in 4s, so more 'freedom' than she had had when we went as a family. We expect her to go to Iceland next year. It will be budget accommodation, but she won't care.
The teachers 'risk assess' trips to within an inch of their lives. They know what they are doing and they do it well. Behaviour rules on trips are spelled out in advance and we and DD have to sign up to them.

Ellisandra · 14/05/2019 15:39

I don’t think you can compare two random trips to different countries with different itineraries. Date alone (are they different?) could explain your difference.

Pinkyyy · 14/05/2019 15:41

@TeenTimesTwo thank you for that, it's incredibly reassuring. I don't doubt it's a wonderful experience for them, will have to wait and see what happens in the next few years.

UnrelentingFruitScoffer · 14/05/2019 15:46

There's nothing wrong with a 2-star hotel just because it is 2-star.

The star ratings are given on facilities. So things like a TV in every bedroom, a lift, a 24-hour reception and a café/bar will bump up the star ratings.

What I care about is whether the hotel is clean (specially clean linen on the beds) and quiet at night and safe. The star rating says literally nothing about that. You have to go online and look at the reviews of the specific hotel.

There are plenty of 3-star and some 4-star hotels which are horrible, dirty dumps full of rowdiness and nightlife of a certain sort and where I would not send my worst enemy.

BallyHockeySticks · 14/05/2019 15:51

They don't go through life expecting everything to be 5 star

Maybe not but of we take you seriously, you literally are bringing them up to expect everything to do be at least 4 star.

Ours have worked up from one night camped out in the school hall to various camping trips at outward bound centres in primary. They haven't yet reached the dizzying heights of a hotel, 3* or otherwise. I think it's amazing teachers run these trips for them, and once they have been camping or hostelling it's another thing they don't have to be scared of.

RomanyQueen1 · 14/05/2019 15:52

Hi Pinkyyy, glad you are still here, thought you'd gone. Thanks
I know where you are coming from, we didn't let any of ours go on school trips abroad, nor with friends families for holidays.
We were lucky though that they never needed to go for curriculum work, so we just didn't bother.
our youngest does camp now at 15 with school, but still in this country.

dreichuplands · 14/05/2019 16:03

I get that 10 would be too young for lots of dc to travel transatlantic, my pair have done it a lot with us so feel ready to do it without us.
They like a pp has said have worked up to it through short local trips away and then ones further away. The first sleepover dd had we had to collect her from.
My point was more that if I stopped them it would be because of my anxieties not theirs.
I do think dc acquire assumptions about their lifestyle if they aren't nudged out of their comfort zone from time to time.
Merely hearing endless stories about how lucky they are too fly and how I never did I think wash over them in the way that discovering that not all airplane seats recline fully doesn't.

Pinkyyy · 14/05/2019 16:04

I'll be honest with you, I thought cleanliness was a factor that affected the star rating but it appears that I was wrong to think that. Still though, I'm happy in 4/5 stars and so are my children. They will never stay in a hostel though.

Thank you @RomanyQueen1 FlowersI did take a bit of a break but always seem to come back eventually. It's good to hear that I'm nit the only one who wouldn't feel comfortable with them being away in a different country with people I don't know, at that age.

teyem · 14/05/2019 16:08

What awful things are you imagining about youth hostels?

Mississippilessly · 14/05/2019 16:19

Why do school trip threads bring our the ridiculous?

Room service? Pools? Are you off your rocker? On most school trips they dont have time for swimming in pools.

Secondary is going to be a hell of a shock for you.

Mississippilessly · 14/05/2019 16:20

Oh and to answer the OP those prices do sound quite steep.

And also indie schools also use trip organisers. Don't know where these 'resources' are coming from.

WalterIris · 14/05/2019 16:36

A hostel is ideal for schools though

Most 5 star hotels = space for 2 per room. plus all facilities. You pay for this. ie several hundred per night. fancy dining at tables for 2.

Most youth hostels = 4-8 bunks per room. clean, large tables in the dining room, catered for big groups. Most schools will take the whole hostel potentially due to numbers so its effectively private use. making it perfect for large school groups. and keeping the cost down.

Can you imagine many parents being happy at child coming home from an £800 week trip, then being sent an extra bill after for £350 for the daily room service overload, manicures, foot massage and porter tip.

RomanyQueen1 · 14/05/2019 16:39

pinkyyy

I would say it was our upbringing but mine was different to yours.
it must just be a shared view between the communities.
I don't think it's anxiety, we weren't anxious, just didn't see the point. We used to cover educational trips during the holidays.
If you decide to H.ed you can do most of the trips yourself.
I took dd to lots of places schools weren't going to that were educational.Some still going from when I was a child Grin

motheroftwoboys · 14/05/2019 16:44

I work for an upmarket independent school and we have LOADS of trips. Trips nowadays are generally organised by specialist agencies and fairly obviously there are specific hotels that cater for school groups. Star ratings are irrelevent but the hotels or hostels are always good and the students have a wonderful time. Staff maybe not so much. It is very, very hard work.