AIBU...to question the cost of a school trip?

[kay1975]

My DS has an "educational" visit to Southend, with a walk down the Pier. They have asked for £10.60, which I've paid. They also have to take £2 for a small ice-cream!

But I know the group train travel rate is £1 per child and 75p for the pier. Obviously the cost covers the teachers, but surely nearly £10 is excessive? My DM said I shouldn't had questioned it as its a "catholic" school!

My email asking what the price covers has been forwarded to the head of yr 1, do you think I'll get detention for asking? :)

would it be for insurance?

I would want to know! You would think they might at least include the ice-cream.
Perhaps it's to do with insurance?

are they allowed to take them on the train or do they have to hire coaches to get them to the pier?

My son's school write a breakdown of costs on the trip letter. How much each component of the trip costs, how much the school are paying and then how much they are asking each parent to pay. It's a good way of doing it IMO.

How are they getting to the pier ? maybe they have had to hire a coach/bus.

Yanbu I have to pay 12 quid for my dd to go about sixty miles away! It's a total rip. 75 kids in my dd's year, you telling me it's going to cost 75 x 12 for a coach? We have to provide everything else including lunch. No ice creams.

They are going on the train. I never questioned a trip before as its always been on a coach and I appreciate how expensive they are!

Alot will be insurance cost which are high.

Dd went on a trip to a museum with free entry and had to take a packed lunch. The trip still cost £7.50 per child to cover coach and insurance.

The school may have to employ a supply teacher for the day - the cost of that could be added on to the trip (was at DS's school)

There's no coach or bus involved, just the train and walking.

GoingToThePark, it could definitely cost that much for a coach. I've helped price trips up and the cost of the coach pushes even the simplest trip into the £15/£20+ bracket; too expensive in our eyes so we just don't run the trips.

There's lots of information it would be useful to have with regard to school trips, such as whether one of the teachers is married to the person who owns the coach company the school always uses!

Certainly a breakdown of the costs would be good to have.

You are probably paying towards the adult's trainfares, presumably they wont be going for £1!!

If they re going for the day I assume they will be eating somewhere too?? And not just an icecream?

Adults travel for less than £5, probably less with a group rate and the children have to take their own snacks and lunch!!

Schools don't make profits on school trips. If they did, kids would be taken on trips every week, wouldn't they? The fact it's £10.60 tells me it's been quite carefully calculated.

My dd2 is in year one and she is going on a trip to the beach, pier and sealife. They are going on a coach, pier is free. I am expecting it to cost about £10. I would ask how they come to that cost.
They are not allowed to make a profit maybe they get a lot of non payers

We have to calculate our trip costs based on 10 per cent not contributing, and 10 per cent contributing a nominal sum.

Anything left over is divided up and refunded to parents.

At our school (secondary) insurance costs around 18p per child per grip so it's unlikely to be that. Um, cost of supply while staff are on trip?

The school isn't allowed to make a profit so YANBU to ask.

Grip? Trip!

That does sound excessive. This 'insurance' you all talk of is only pence per child. Between the children going, even if adult costs were £5, that should only add on about £1 to each child. By my reckoning that means it ought to be about £3 per child. Yes, I too would be questioning it.

I'm a teacher, and get stick everytime I organise a school trip. It's unbelievably irritating.

The biggest cost for any trip is the coach travel - sometimes the venue itself is free, but the coach runs into hundreds of pounds. We always do some kind of fundraiser to keep the costs down, which usually end up costing ME money in supplies (popcorn, drinks & snacks for movie nights, ingredients for cake sales, sweets for tuckshops etc...).

Trips involve an incredible amount hard work to plan and organise, there is so much paperwork & red tape involved, a day out of your weekend to visit the place in advance to do a risk asessment, not to mention the stress of the trip itself (60+ excitable children in a busy public place, anyone?). On top of that, dealing with a minority of parents who accuse you of cashing in / letting other children go free at their expense / expecting them to pay for your "day out" etc etc...

If it wasn't for the fact that the children ALWAYS have such a wonderful time, and seeing the look on their faces, I'd prefer not to bother with trips at all.

I very much doubt that your child's school is cashing in. I think YABU. But feel free to ask the question if it would reassure you - the teacher will break down the costs with you.

Just noticed they are taking the train - my apologies!

They must be bloody mad!!!