school trip for 13 year olds which involves setting off at 2am?

[Mintyy]

My child is going on a 3 day school trip to a European country.

Today I find out that the timing of the outward bound flight means that we have to get her to school for boarding the coach by 2.15am.

Aibu to think this is nuts?

I remember departing at 12:30am for school trip to France - very exciting and par for the course as previous posters have said.

What annoyed me though was being woken up by phone at stupid o'clock by DB's school phoning to check he was ready for a small hours departure when I had A level exam the next day.

We could swap kids..DD usually gets up at 1am

Must be great excitement for the children. It obviously keeps the price down- I bet OP would moan if it was £££ more expensive!
A great fuss about nothing.

If you can't stand the idea see if she can stay with a friend and go from there.

Wow you really have op a hard time

I had no idea they ran trips for 13 year olds which start at 2am and follow with a full day's activities. That must be exhausting.

Lazmizzrab - you win the prize fir most sanctimonious post ever on mumsnet

You are only a few years off having to sit up to 2am to collect them from parties!( or lie in bed waiting to hear them come in)

"- I bet OP would moan if it was £££ more expensive!".

And your evidence for this is?

If I had the choice to pay considerably more for a school trip with better hours, I would take it. I accept and understand why that isn't the case, but it's nonetheless true.

I don't think that yabu at all!!!

Just the assumption that everyone can easily do this!

I'm in Germany.

School trips so far have always been within Germany-bus leaves at 9am, returns at 12pm.

I think only the few who do the equivalent of "A" levels go out of the country for a school trip-it's a big deal!

Poor teachers. I am one and doing a 5am start very soon

Maybe she wouldn't moan, but it would then be unaffordable for many. I hate people who throw money at things and don't think of those who want to keep down costs. It is done to keep the price down. Maybe they should have said before they signed up -but would OP really have stopped them going because of an early start?

Early starts for overseas trips are standard round here too. When dd went to France in y5 they left around 4am. I said goodbye at home and dh did the drop off. Went back to bed briefly before we had to be up again for work.

The bunch of 9-11 year olds going thought it was the best thing ever though.

They got home late too iirr.

I agree- the teachers have my sympathy!

Which people is it you hate? As I stated in my post, I understand why I don't have the choice to throw money at the problem, and Mintyy has said nothing either way on that point.

yanbu op. I completely disagree with this type of timing. There will be a percentage of parents, pupils and children who cope really badly with this degree of sleep disruption and the platitudes from people who cope Ok on less sleep don't help. school should just do less stuff when they are there and get a better flight time.
I think you should say something to the school so they warn parents before booking next time.

Many people start shifts at odd hours. I frequently work a few nights 10.30pm til 8am, have a 'rest day' then enjoy a 6 am start.

I suppose if you are a single parent or your partner is on nightshift and you have other children, you just have to get another parent to take them along.

"but would OP really have stopped them going because of an early start?"

Who knows? But with more notice, she may have been able to arrange work differently etc if that suited her better.

What am I supposed to do

Confer with other parents and have a bunch do a 'sleep over' at one parent's who is more able to do the 2am drop off.

Volunteer to do the pick up for the same group - or offer copious quantities of wine.

Yes, it's very common practice round here, in Sussex it means that a school can daytrip to France. The crossings are much cheaper and less crowded in the wee hours. The children love it.
Yes, they should have told you ASAP.
I regularly took DD and her friend to them, as an insomniac and stressed-out teacher I was usually at that time.
Can you double up and let a friend take them?

Very common. Thank God for all those wonderful teachers who give up their time to do these trips and do not get the opportunity to go back to bed once the coach leaves :)

delphiniums it's the standard start time for 'abroad' trips round here. It's not done to keep the costs down as such, it's because we live in a stupid place. Day trips to London (which all 3 of my kids did in Y5) start at the much later time of 4am. And yes, parents DO opt to not send their kids because if the start time, they sometimes have no choice - DS didn't go on the trip to France because we knew I'd be away at a conference and we weren't prepared to force DD2 (too young to be left at home alone) to get up in the small hours, trek out to his school to drop him off, and trek back home again when she had a music exam the next day. DS was actually quite glad though because he didn't want to go, his best mate wasn't going cos of the early start time otherwise DS could have stayed over at his the night before. DS's mate's mum (single parent at the time) had a big work day the next day (an important funding meeting) and felt that that was more important (she was right). DD1 did go on the abroad trip in Y9 because she was able to stay over with a friend the night before. She has another abroad trip next year and I'm already concerned about how we will manage it - they won't give us the date and her mates no longer do the subject with the trip. If I'm going to be away there will be no way she can go.

I've no idea if the OP would object to the trip being more expensive, with better times.
I do know it would make the opportunity inaccessible for more children whose parents couldn't afford it.