£1800 for a school trip

[Patchw0rk]

Is it just me, or what are the school thinking?!

DC desperately wants to go of course- all their friends are, of course 🙄and we could possibly afford it with a lot of hard work (on my part, overtime!) but we could take the whole family away for that.

DC is 13 so old enough to understand about money really but so wants to go. It's a week skiing in Canada. I want them to have brilliant life experiences but it's just so much money.

I just think school have lost the plot. Could they really not have come up with something more reasonable for a y9 trip?

@LiquoriceAllsorts2 No, the trips have to be affordable and realistic - loads of suggestions from other posters already.

@SheldontheWonderSchlong
When was your first foreign holiday?

What about the kids in the middle, not the middle class kids who do loads of foreign holidays, or the kids who rely on benefits.

Me, my sis and cousin all experience our first foreign holiday with school

While it is a huge amount of money, it is a good price to ski in Canada. Cheaper to travel to Europe via coach. But less snow sure and an unpleasant journey. And does it have to be skiing? Always an expensive choice. They presumably want a few days away with their friends. Mine went to Whitby! They loved it.

Lots of schools do offer cheaper trips aswell within the uk, which have places for a larger proportion of students. But there will be some people who find them too expensive or who struggle to pay it. The school should definitely offer more affordable trips aswell but they shouldn’t necessarily all be targeted at what the least wealthy can afford. There will also be lots of children who can’t go for reasons other than cost.

Curiosity question do councils make money available to 'looked after children' to experience trips? I don't mean out of school deprivation funds I mean out of social work funds?

I certainly agree schools should offer a range of trips at varying price points.

Also given most trips have limited spaces, they should be a system that where trips are over subscribed, priority should go to those who've never had a school trip.

While I currently sit in a different financial position to what I grew up in. Even parents with a bit of spare cash are looking for value for money out of any trip schools offer.

Looked after children get Pupil Premium money which is meant to be used just for them, so can't be used to employ a TA for the whole class for example. It's used for specific things that child needs such as 1:1 tutoring. As a foster carer I've been told that schools are not meant to use the money to fund trips. That said, if there's nothing specific that child needs it could be that the money is used on a residential trip. My two foster kids have had residentials paid for out of that money in the past, though not to such a high amount. Our council at least doesn't give extra money for trips as the money carers are given for the children is meant to be enough to cover everything.

That's actually really sad that they don't have money set aside for trips. I know they are a luxury but...
Also relying on foster carers to pay it either esp as they are often moved around.

I’m sad my DD hasn’t had a residential trip at her school and she leaves in 2 weeks. She was supposed to have had 2 nights in London last year with a show but it was cancelled due to lack of interest. When my other DC were at the same school they had trips to Barcelona, Normandy and skiing in Bulgaria

Have they got heard of the climate crisis?
The irony of flying a bunch of kids to go skiing because the snow in Europe can't be guaranteed because of, you know, people flying to the other side of the world when they don't need to?

Don't get me wrong - I've travelled why more than most and I believe travel broadens the mind etc etc.
But I fail to see how travelling to Canada escorted in a group to ski is going to broaden the mind any more than going to Italy/France/Austria etc to ski will?
I have become to reframe the amount of travelling I have done, and accept that I am/was part of the climate/carbon problem and to adapt my behaviour.

My daughter wanted to ski with her school at a similar age. Extortionate price too. I said a firm no. Mind you, she wasn't particularly sporty and I said I wasn't paying £££s for her to have snowball fights while the serious ones were on the slopes. She did understand and actually laughed because she knew that was exactly what would have happened. BTW she said all her mates were going. They weren't. Unless your child has friends who all have wealthy parents, I suspect they won't all be going either.

I have this argument with DH all the time. He thinks these things are normal and part of 'school' but they absolutely weren't at my school, the biggest school trip we ever had was a day trip to Alton Towers as a leavers trip.

There was a chess club with 6 kids that went to the European finals that they played in but that was extra curricular and specific because they where playing.

We straight up can't afford it, my DH 'overrode' me by getting his parents to pay then saying 'its paid now' but we have several kids. They are paying now because my oldest is the only one currently at that point but they will ALL need to be treat equally and we simply can't afford to pay for the others to go let alone when they all start rolling in together.

I hear other parent complaining over the years when their year 11 and year 9 BOTH have an expensive trip coming up etc... and where are they suppose to get 2k from for them and how they cant afford family holidays and things due to it.

DH couldn't go on a trip back in the 60s due to being in a home, but his brother in foster care went. Still causes resentment 60 years later.

@70sTomboy that really shit. And given what the foster carer said I bet that still happens. Really shit, kids who really deserve a holiday miss out.

Years ago I chatting to a lady with 3 tween girls at a riding school. I initially thought they were her daughters but was thinking maybe not, too close in age, she laughed Oh no they are not mine, I'm a carer, they are from the local children's home. The council paid for them to ride, as a social thing and the ponies were good therapy.
And I sort of thought the council would pay for trips for care kids too.

Nothing like sitting in A&E with a child who has broken a leg! What a treat!! It’s like all those bloody office workers who keep sending themselves on ‘business trips’ abroad so they can have a night out in Düsseldorf. Quite honestly, they should all be paying for the privilege. Call it work!

I reckon the teachers would rather go on their own holiday without having to mind loads of other ppls's kids.... my bestie is a teacher and she finds the trips utterly stressful so perhaps you're barking up the wrong tree on that one.

Dd3's school has a Spanish trip in October which is 3 nights 4 days that they want over £1100 for. Dd3 ( year 10) is not happy I said no. I did say if she really wants to go to Spain (she is doing Spanish gcse) we could go for a couple of days but she's not interested. Dd1 and dd2 went to the same school albeit about 16 years ago and one year they both went on trips to France and a weekend to Bath with the school. I can't remember it costing an arm and a leg.

As a child in the 70s and early 80s I was lucky enough to go on school trips to France and Italy. Most of us had never been abroad before or on a plane and we had a wonderful time. I went to a Liverpool comprehensive in a working class area. The best school holidays I went on were a long weekend in North Wales - the first time most of us had been away from home ( year 7) and a 3 or 4 night stay at a commune in the New Forest when I was in year 12 ( living in Hampshire by then).

The only school trip I ever had was going 'Doon the Watter' from Glasgow to Rothesay for the the day. It was fabulous to be on a boat, everyone had a great time ... for the cost of public transport. The whole class went. Unfortunately, Woolworth was missing some of it's stock following the visit.