To Be P***** Off at yet another expensive school trip

[meah]

Hi, my ds has is now starting yr 9 & dd yr 8, in yr 7 a school trip was offered but cost was in the £300s (i forget exactly how much) being so expensive i couldn't afford it and it left both kids gutted when well over half of the kids in their yr got to go. ive just recieved another school trip email (not sure which yr not that it matters) offering a ski holiday trip, abroad for 6 nights for £680. which would be fantastic if i where loaded!! Why cant schools offer school trips that are affordable to all like they're supposed to instead of making those whos parents cant afford it feel left out!!!

[GnomeDePlume]

If you want your kids to go on amazing trips, great, organize it yourself.

Why should a nanosecond of school time or energy be wasted on arranging trips for parents who dont want to sort them out themselves.

The school is not a travel agent.

Educational trips are a different matter. If the trip is genuinely educational (not simply somewhere foreign) then the cost should be subsidised so that all children who are on that course would benefit.

[BeauNeidel]

I'm not sure what I feel about this.

I do know that at £680 per child, if my twins were offered the opportunity to go, we wouldn't be able to afford it.

I am dreading them getting older

[Mrsjay]

Oh sparkling that is a lot of money,

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

Yet another stinky attitude from Betty I see.

Eh?? I am only giving my opinion and I though I was quite polite about it thanks!

[SaraSidle]

I pushed the boat out for dd to go to Aushwitz with history teacher. That's not somewhere she would go to otherwise. We got a good reduction ( if on fsm you do if it's one of their gcse subjects)

[SaraSidle]

Didn't see much wring with bettys post either

[Sparklingbrook]

Betty are you often stinky then? I hadn't noticed.

[DontmindifIdo]

Skiing is a common school trip though, and it isn't something that can be done on the cheap - if you capped school trips at £250 that would mean certain things just wouldn't be offered at school - while that would make sense in schools where the majority of parents couldn't afford it, it does seem rather harsh in others where there are a large number who could

(disclaimer, my parents could afford skiing trip, but where of hte opinion it wasn't safe so wouldn't let me go, I was in my 20s when I first skied and discovered I really rather enjoy it)

[LargeGlassofRed]

Ds1 has been chosen to go to Kenya, £1400!!!
Also this week, have has to pay £36 for dd2's choir trip
£26 for dd1 to go to food show.
And £25 for dt's panto trip.
Oh and just remembered need to pay £25 football subs
Arrgh

[OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos]

It's not about schools doing it for parents who done want to sort it out for themselves. There are plenty of reasons why a child's family might not be able to provide their child with trips that the school could offer.

What about children who have parents or siblings with disability or medical conditions that make travel, or at least certain types of travel much more difficult or expensive?

What about children who have siblings who are much younger, making it very difficult for a family to take their 15 year old and their 6 month old skiing?

What about children whose parents are carers for older family members so the family are very limited about being able to take holidays?

Why does everything on MN always harp back to things being unfair on families with a limited income? All children deserve to be considered when the school is planning trips, not just the ones with poor parents.

[Scholes34]

I currently have DCs in years 7, 9 and 11. I've been aware since they started school that there would be a Year 6 residential and a ski trip around Year 10. I've said no to many trips, whilst promising we would think seriously about these Year 6 and Year 10 trips.

The Year 6 trip I considered essential and we paid £300 for each of them.

Yes, the ski trip was expensive - £800 - but I've been building up to paying that for five or more years. I know we'll never ski as a family unit, so it was an opportunity worth taking. DD was blown away by the experience and even rang me from the slope to say thank you and how grateful she was. DS1 and DS2 will also be given the opportunity to go, but know that there we will be saying "no" to a lot of the £300 or so trips that are offered in other years. On the ski trip, the children were active all day every day and I felt it much more worthwhile than trudging around museums and shops in a European city.

We did ask that the head of both the primary and secondary schools give an indication at the start of each year of the trips being proposed for each of the school years with an idea of the costs and they now do that. This makes it very easy to start to budget over a number of years for expensive trips.

I certainly don't have money sloshing around and need to plan.

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

Sparkling - I dont think so, I do wash now and again

Sara - DS's school do Auswitz as well, sounds really interesting so I will work my arse off to make sure he can go :)

[ClippedPhoenix]

These things are not arranged with the "children in mind" Kids don't care where they go as long at its "FUN".

[BeatTheClock]

I think schools are travel agents, what I dont understand is why? What has a holiday to Disney or wherever got to do with their business which is teaching pupils?

I don't go to the doctor and get someone trying to flog me a holiday whilst I'm there, or go for a haircut and come out with a new car. So why do schools branch out into travel agency?

[QueefLatina]

Do any of your DCs schools not organise any school trips?

Is it just DSs school? DS has never been on a proper school trip and he is in year 11.

Seriously, the school have never organised a school trip further than a couple of miles away.

DS has missed out

[Sparklingbrook]

The trip to Morroco involves things like camel trekking in the Saraha, and sleeping out under the stars. It sounds fabulous.

It does clearly state on the letter though that non attendance won't affect any progress.

I think it's quite hard to ask a child now whether he wants to go on a trip in October 2013. They have timed it for half term week though which is genius.

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

Clipped - please enlighten me on my other stinky attitudes then

[SaraSidle]

Yes Betty dd got a lot from it. It's not the sort of place you can go on a family holiday after all. She came back haunted though.

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

I can imagine sara but how fascinating. I bet she came back too even keener on history and wanting to learn more though.

[akaemmafrost]

I agree that school trips should be capped. The only kids who can afford to go on the expensive ones are likely to be taken away by their parents anyway. Should be mid range price and accessible to all. My parents were never able to afford to send me on any trips and I really felt the sting of that. Never went on one.

[Aboutlastnight]

I think the op has a point. Children can explore a different culture easily enough in Britain - head over to the Western Isles, while you're there try wind surfing, horse riding, rock climbing Munro bagging ...that is the dirt if trip that should be affordable for all.

Some schools fundraise throughout the year to bring the costs of the school trip down to enable more children to participate.

Friend was telling me her DS was going to Venice with the primary school, 5* hotel. Third is in a fairly disadvantaged area. The kids left behind got to go to their local park

[Aboutlastnight]

Dirt =sort

[OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos]

I don't think it's true that the only kids that can afford to go on the expensive trips are likely to go away with their families anyway.

It is much more possible that a family will be able to find the money for one child to go on a trip which is subsidised through group booking than it would be for them to find the money for the whole family to go.

[ClippedPhoenix]

Why don't you enlighten me Betty? I'm sure there are more where that one came from