to think that this is too much money for a school trip

[aquariel]

Hi all,

Eldest son (13yrs) brough a letter home from school for a trip they are planning to Iceland in October 2015. Cost of trip is £790 and will take place during October half term.

I run a very tight budget (currently clearing off all credit cards etc aiming to be debt free by 2018 - just in time to help him with fees for university no doubt!) and while we could stretch to it if pushed this seems like an obscene amount for one child (although I guess at his age he's probably charged as an adult on international travel). School has said they'd like a £50 non-refundable deposit to secure a place to be paid immediately (I couldn't pay till payday anyway - mid month for us) so probably wouldn't be able to commit to the trip.

I really don't want to disappoint my son as he rarely asks for much and he seems really excited about the (possibility of) this trip. We have in the past paid up for trips to London and Belgium for him so I'm not worried about him missing out on that side of "the experience" (although I appreciate Iceland is a totally different kettle of fish) but the most either of those trips cost me was £350 including his spending money.

So .. what do others think? Reasonable price or unreasonable?

I think it is too much for a school trip and I would say 'no' and save up for the whole family to go to iceland: there are really good special offers for iceland trips at the moment and you might get the whole family there for a short trip for not much more.

I refused to shell out for an exorbitantly priced school trip to Pompeii years ago for dd and we went as a family instead. I was so glad we did: All the school outings we saw there consisted of school children sitting around in crowded gaggles while the teachers were off seeing the sights.

Whether the price is reasonable for the trip and whether it is reasonable for you to try to afford it are two separate issues.

Our secondary school makes it very clear that no-one (almost, I'm sure there are some for whom money is no object) could afford to go on every trip that is offered so people have to pick and choose carefully.

Teaching your son that it is not always a good idea to stretch your finances to afford luxuries may well be much more valuable to him in the long term than a trip to Iceland.

Too exppensive imo.

I know Iceland is interesting -been there as a working adult not school trip- but many countries are interesting and fab. It doesnt mean you have to go to alk of them before your 15th birthday.

We bang on about the environment and yet we still see no issue in dashing off abroad on a whim .
Personally my kids will have to deal with 'no' , based on this fact alone .

Yep, ski trip last year was £1000 (same year we went to Florida and DD went to Malaysia with her father) and this half term the trip is £400 for 3 nights in the Channel Islands and next year £500 for the Leavers Experience. Expensive.

I remember a weekend trip being offered by the Art department at dd1's school for around £900 to visit galleries in New York .

It seemed particularly ridiculous given that we have some of the best art galleries in the world on our doorstep here in Liverpool which are free to visit, yet the school has never suggested a class trip to any of them .

And £500 for a Leavers' Experience?

What's wrong with a kick up the arse and a carriage clock?

I can se that it's a lot of money for many families to find, but I can also see that it's an opportunity he probably would never get to do if the school didn't arrange it. Only you know what your finances can stand. He'll be sad for a bit, but get over it if he can't go.

My ds's school offered LOADS of trips over the years - one I did pay out for, was about £800 some 4 years ago, but it was a chance he'd never be likely to get again. OTOH, I didn't sign him up for various Outward Bound / PGL type trips which cost say £300 ish, Because he did all the same sorts of activities when he went on Scout Camps which cost me about £35 for a weekend camp. So, for me, it's not just about the cost, but also about the opportunity.

I grew up in a household where finances were fairly tight and did the cheaper school trips (Germany and the UK) but not the expensive ones (Ski Trip, World Challange). My DPs family had much more money and he did literally everything.

On one hand I do really wish I'd learned to ski as a child (it's damn difficult as a risk averse adult!) and he obviously got a lot from his trip to the Himalayas as I hear about it more than once a month I'd say, 15 years on! However he and his sister are dare I say it both a tad 'entitled' they sort of assume that it's their right to be able to do whatever they'd like to do. I wonder if this is somewhat a product of never being told 'no, that's not possible' as a child.

I don't think it's a bad lesson for your DS that money is finite and that he can't have something just for him that means the whole family will have significantly less for a year. On the other hand Iceland is an amazing place that I'd love to visit so I think it depends on how affordable it is for you to send him on this now and the younger one on the same in a few years time. Also, whether this is the trip he most wants to do of all the trips school will offer in the future if he's only going to be able to do one of them.

@ BOFster 'a kick up the arse and a carriage clock'. That made me laugh.

We shelled out for DD1 to go to New York and Washington with Art Dept in February as she was doing GCSE. We live within an hour of central London.

Now she is doing A level German and we are forking out £450 plus money for food for a trip to Berlin right on top of Christmas.

Celticlass2, you are missing the point. I am not saying that the OP's son shouldnt go to Iceland just that this isnt the only opportunity nor indeed necessarily the best opportunity for him to go to Iceland. His life wont be blighted because he didnt see Iceland when he was 13.

IMO a lot of these are vanity trips. They look good in the prospectus even for state schools. I have seen many schools prospectuses with a photograph of a group of students in front of volcano/ancient monument/NY skyscraper. The blurb will say something about 'students enjoying their amazing geograph/history trip to XXXXXX'.

The implication is that this was a trip enjoyed by the majority of students studying that particular subject. The reality is that the 5 students in the photo were the only 5 students who went. You arent looking at a photo from a school trip but at a group holiday photo.

I'm sorry, but he's already been to Belgium and London!
When I was at secondary school I only went on ONE trip to a garden park 20 miles away - under no circumstances could my parents have funded a trip abroad!
I longed to go abroad, so I worked hard at school and college and got a good job so I could afford to go on such trips myself.

I've paid for my dcs to go on school trips to Moscow on the basis that they're never likely to get there under their own steam, and like Boleh's husband I still talk about my work trip there 18 years ago!
I would have thought Iceland was similarly inaccessible, mainly through price and am off to investigate now, inspired by misfor's £37 flights.
OP I leaning towards yes, based on his interest in the weather/ not having been on trips before/ the assumption he's doing GCSE geography. But do talk to the school about the cost and a subsidy and PAYG option.

My main worry would be that your younger dc will want to do the same trip when they're 13. It adds up to a huge amount of money.
My dc both did the Belgium battlefields trip but fortunately the only other trips they asked to do were UK based and they were expensive enough.

So far my kids have been offered the following trips ( state comprehensive)

Paris £1500
New York ( 3 nights) £1500
France £1800
Bolivia £4500
Amazonian rain forest £5000
Norway £6500

It really pisses me off. THese trips are always over subscribed but the rich kids who go away with their families several times a year.

Many families have no way in hell of affording them.
I thpought schools were supposed to be inclusive?

In reply to the OP I think it is a reasonable amount of money for a school trip. Do they run it every couple of years? Perhaps he could go later on.

My elder child has been on several trips costing more than unfortunately and a couple of shorter ones costing less that but my younger one has not been offered any trips at all - in her school trios are only for prize winners and subsidised by the school. I think teachers go free but obviously give up their own time to not only accompany but organise.

My eldest did go on a World Challenge trip to India which cost over £3k including equipment etc but I wouldn't describe it as a vanity trip as she got so much out of it.

It is a reasonable amount of money for a trip to Iceland.

Whether or not you feel a trip to Iceland is appropriate for a school trip is a different question. However, the cost is not unreasonable.

£790 is very good for Iceland.

I was really pleased that my DCs had the opportunities when they were at school. DS3 went to Iceland and we couldn't have gone as a family.
I saved lots of money when they were babies with second hand stuff - they are not bothered at that age and I preferred to spend it later.
A good idea for those with small children - if grandparents are going to go OTT with Christmas presents suggest one small one and money in a fund for later.
It is a reasonable cost for Iceland, it is in half term, so if it isn't a reasonable cost for you don't do it. Mine couldn't go on all trips, even with my method. I don't remember everyone going on all trips - it doesn't mean they shouldn't be offered.
It makes me laugh when someone says 'do the teachers pay?'! As if they should give up holiday, work 24/7, have the responsibility and stress of a load of teenagers and pay for the privilege!! You wouldn't get any trips- the teacher would do the sensible thing and spend the money on a holiday in Iceland on their own.

I'm very surprised that many posters think £750 is a high price for a school trips to Iceland. It's really is not.
I think you must be out of the loop in regards to prices for school trips.
It's a moot point of course if you can't afford it, but if you can I think it would be a wonderful experience for any child. There is just something very different about going away with your peers,- it is very different to a family holiday.
My DD will also be going on a trip to London in October for £150 ( two nights, loads of stuff included including a theatre trip and a meal) . I think this us bloody excellent value. We have been to London many times. Doesn't mean she is not going to have a great time, and a new experience.

Just laughing at the usual posts along the lines of why would you go to Iceland when you can go to Scotland, or to an art gallery in London.
I know which I'd prefer!

These are the same posters who will turn up on holiday threads, saying that they rarely leave to UK to holiday abroad.
As for the objecting to flying thing. A massive yawn...

Is it just a fun trip, or will they be doing significant amounts of geography?

Does he like geography - is he planning to do it for A level?

DD's school geography department go to Iceland every two years. I said no in year 10 - too much money for a bit of extra for one GCSE. She changed direction and ended up opting for A level geography, so she went in year 12 instead. It wasn't required or even expected, but she did find it useful to have seen some of the things for real.

As a geography teacher who runs a 4 day trip to Iceland at Easter, it's spot on. That price for us covers coaches to and from the airport, travel during the trip, flights, hotel, food and entrance fees.
But I agree it's a lot of money

I would like to add that in such trips the tour operator offers 1 teacher space for 10 students. I have never known student costs to go up to cover the teacher!

I want to go to Iceland now I will have to add it to my long list of places to visit.