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AIBU?

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Original poster

School trips which are only affordable to a minority of parents - just why?

266 replies

Mintyy · 01/10/2015 21:10

Why do schools do this?

If someone can explain, I am all ears!

I am talking about non-leafy state comprehensive schools here.

OP posts:
parrotsummer · 01/10/2015 21:58

Suburban, the money goes up with each kid.

WorraLiberty · 01/10/2015 22:03

Again, same reason with the luxury ones.

Because it might be the only way the parents can afford their child to experience that.

MillionToOneChances · 01/10/2015 22:05

It does wind me up. A friend talks fondly of the school ski trips she went on - coach to the slope and then dorm rooms so it was a cheap way to learn to ski. My daughter's school usually goes to posh accommodation in the US, with a sneaky night or two for sightseeing somewhere like New York on the way home. Costs over £1300. Irritating.

Last term they wanted £650 for 3 days in Rome. They threw it open to the whole school because the relevant children weren't signing up. I could take the three of us for that cost, to a nice basic B&B I've used before.

Original poster
Mintyy · 01/10/2015 22:08

I think the tired old mantra "life is unfair" is fine to be trotted out infront of private school children (they know that already) but it's really just a pat response to my serious question about why fully comprehensive schools in a mixed area would do this.

OP posts:
OllyBJolly · 01/10/2015 22:08

For most kids it's a once in a lifetime chance to visit somewhere they would never go. DD1 went to Ecuador and then managed to get to go to Belize when someone else dropped out of that trip. That and the Young Enterprise were probably the most enriching learning experiences of her school career. Cost about £1400 and some kids were subsidised by the school. DD1's best friend paid a couple of hundred. Well worth it.

The teacher that organised them had left by the time DD2 got to that stage and there were no trips. I do think she missed out.

GnomeDePlume · 01/10/2015 22:10

its unfair but life is unfair - students know this already, they dont need their noses rubbing in it.

If these trips are necessary for courses then they should be free to students otherwise they shouldnt be offered.

I dont care if some students 'get lots out' of these trips. That isnt important. The places will still exist when the students are older and can pay for trips themselves. In fact they will almost certainly get more out of these trips as adults.

steppemum · 01/10/2015 22:12

can I just correct the myth about PP kids.

yes trips can be subsidised up to a point. But PP is not allowed to pay fro certain things. Off the top of my head I think it is that it is not allowed to pay for the accommodation and travel costs. Or it may be the other way round and it is not allowed to pay for the academic costs (ie cost of the teaching)

either way, they can't offer it free. And many secondary schools do not use PP in this way anyway

OutToGetYou · 01/10/2015 22:12

Dss is invited on a geography trip which is £600. Then there's the ski trip at about the same amount and another field trip, I can't remember how much or what for.

Then there are two scout camps a year and one theatre school for a week.

His DM won't pay anything towards any of it, so my dp has to pay for all of it if dss has to do it. It's very hard.

CookieMonsterIsOnADiet · 01/10/2015 22:16

Parrot, why would you purposely ensure your daughter is a PP child? For the alleged free trips? Don't you care that statistically she's very likely to do less well than her peers educationally?

I think it's good the trips are offered and wouldn't like to see them stopped. There's usually plenty of notice so all parents can have the chance to pay if they want their child to go. Some parents don't like to fly, can't get the time off work etc so appreciate trips with the school. Children get to travel and have experiences.

I never did them as a child but I want my children to have the chance so I work hard so they can.

LikeASoulWithoutAMind · 01/10/2015 22:21

Schools have to show that they are making an impact with the PP money. ie closing the gap in terms of progress between PP and other children. I'd be really surprised if they could demonstrate that if they are spending the whole lot on expensive overseas trips.

Our school offers a skiiing trip which with spending money and kit costs upwards of £1000. We're not poor by any means but for ds to go on that would mean forgoing a family holiday. Which is very hard to justify.

PHANTOMnamechanger · 01/10/2015 22:21

what annoys me is that, while our school runs ski trips, trips to Japan, China and a cruise of the med taking in sights such as jerusalem and the pyramids (yes, I am serious here!!) they CANCELLED the planned GSCE class's 4 day trip to France, because there was not enough take up.

I would have thought a trip for language courses is a fairly basic necessity, I guess the poor take up was not about costs but about no wow factor - 'been there, done that' / 'it's only France'. DD was looking forward to going. We don't do the other sorts of trips, and don't do holidays abroad so it was a big thing for her!

HearTheThunderRoar · 01/10/2015 22:22

DD (16) wants to go to on a world challenge trip around Vietnam which will cost $7k (3.5GBP) I don't have that money lying around but will sell some things. It was either that or a 6 week exchange to Germany for about the same cost, but then her exchange student has to come and live with us for 6 weeks.

parrotsummer · 01/10/2015 22:23

Step

Local schools state on their websites that PP kids will not pay for school trips.

They get a pencil case as well. Wink

mygrandchildrenrock · 01/10/2015 22:26

I work hard too cookie, but however hard I work I couldn't afford for my DC to go to Australia or Iceland. I think trips like that are vastly unfair for the majority of children. The Australia trip went ahead with 12 students because that was all who could afford it. One local school goes to Iceland for their Geography GCSE trip, another went 15 miles to the local beach for the same GCSE trip. There is usually no need to go to such expensive destinations.

woodlands01 · 01/10/2015 22:26

It is impossible for our two working parent family to take our two children ski-ing in school holidays. It really is not affordable for us. My daughter went with the school - cost us £800 - she loved it. I am certain many other families couldn't afford it but it gave my daughter access to a holiday that would be impossible otherwise, We costed it at £6000 pounds for a week for the family - 5 years ago and then wrote it off. Many schools encourage students to fund raise for the very expensive trips, a positive thing I think.

janethegirl2 · 01/10/2015 22:28

It's surely your choice as parents which trips you want to fund. My dc only went on those trips I thought were appropriate.
Certainly not all of them though!

Lostlight · 01/10/2015 22:29

My kids are pupil premium. They have never had a trip funded.
They haven't had a pencil case either.

Parrot, would you like the rest of the crap that goes with it?

Original poster
Mintyy · 01/10/2015 22:29

I'm really not convinced that some of these trips are worth the money, in terms of benefit to the child. And sorry but "I work hard so they can go" sticks in my craw a little bit. Many families work very hard and have absolutely no spare cash to save up for one of their children to go on a jolly.

OP posts:
parrotsummer · 01/10/2015 22:31

I'm sorry?

HearTheThunderRoar · 01/10/2015 22:32

Yeah, I don't understand why you need to go to different countries for a field trip?? We're abroad, the furthest Dd has gone for a field trip is 1.5 hour north. Because of the location where we live, it isn't applicable to go abroad.

Surely you don't need to go to Iceland if your studying geography, I am sure somewhere in the UK would be suffice. DD went to the local dairy farm!

Lostlight · 01/10/2015 22:32

Call me old fashioned, but I thought that the role of the school was to educate children, not to provide the opportunity of a expensive trips that the child would not otherwise enjoy.

Poor kids do not need to be taught about unfairness. They live it daily. How patronising.

WorraLiberty · 01/10/2015 22:34

Fuck me. A free pencil case and banned from paying for trips even if they can afford them?

Why not just make PP kids walk around with a sandwich board...

parrotsummer · 01/10/2015 22:36

Worra, you are very rude.

Do you suppose the school state who is paying for the trips and who is not?

Do you suppose the stationary comes stamped with PP on it?

Hmm
parrotsummer · 01/10/2015 22:39

To put it another way.

I realise it frequently comes as a shock to many but some PP children are bright and have intelligent and loving parents. They don't need any 'intervention' to close a non existent gap. What they need is a bit of financial support accessing things other children get to access.

So worra - your lucky DS. My DD wouldn't have that opportunity unless the school paid but 'fuck you' what does that matter given your child got to go?

In the meantime just send your kid to the school that suits them best and let me do the same.

WorraLiberty · 01/10/2015 22:39

It doesn't matter how the pencil case comes

It's hugely patronising to single out PP kids in that way, and also to refuse to let their parents pay their way, should they be able to/want to.

It's like stepping back into the 1970s.

Not to mention a waste of money, that could be put to better use.