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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that the cost of this Year 6 Outward Bounds trip is too high!

76 replies

MidnightVelvetthe3rd · 02/10/2015 15:36

DS started Year 6 last month, there is the option to go on the Year 6 residential trip which all the classes go on every year. Do you know the one I mean, its where the kids & some staff members go & stay somewhere & have a week abseiling/potholing/kayaking etc

Well I really liked the sound of it in theory, there was a meeting last night (that I couldn't attend as we were at a secondary open evening) but DS had the spiel in school yesterday & came home full of the planned program & things that they could do & is desperate to go. Its 6 hours away so there's 2 days of just travel there & back & then 3 full days of activities. I've just spoken to a mum friend & she says the cost of the trip is £275. They want £75 deposit paid by 1 November, another £100 paid by Christmas & the remaining £100 in the new year.

Fuck me I didn't think it would cost this much! I can find the money but it will mean some cutting back & careful planning. Is this a pretty normal cost for these kind of trips where you are? aibu to not expect it to be this much?!

OP posts:
momb · 02/10/2015 18:15

YDs y6 residential is £345. Its bonkers. I think that your price is more justifiable tbh OP.

TheWitTank · 02/10/2015 18:22

Our year 6 trip is £400.00. It does look amazing though, not at all like the places we went in the 90s with school where we had to make our own sandwiches and the dinners were basic slop. It is bloody expensive though.

ohtheholidays · 02/10/2015 21:31

Same as said up thread,wait for the secondary school trips,well over £1,000 for our oldest to go skiing.He did have a great time and I'm glad we managed to be able to afford it,but I could imagine what my Mum and Dad would have said and they only had 3 of us,we have 5DC.

Myself and DH have both said that our schools did hardly any trips where as our childrens schools it seems to be all the time.Already we've had two trips we've paid for and our children have only been back to school a few weeks.

Parrish · 02/10/2015 21:42

Sounds about right. Ours has cost almost exactly the same for a similar trip.

Tantrictantrum · 02/10/2015 22:21

Ours is mon-Fri and only £150

Kayakinggirl86 · 02/10/2015 23:14

A 4 day break (with early bird booking -VAT) is £169, you then have bedding at £9.50 a child. You only get one adult place free for every 12 going. So school may need to pay for extra adults, coach cost and cost of supply teachers to cover the classes the teachers who are on the trip should be teaching cost £200 a day- for each member of staff who needs covered.

It all adds up £275 sounds reasonable to me.

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 02/10/2015 23:26

Why don't they go to Dol-y-moch? That's only about £150 for 5 days. My Dd will be going this year. My other Dd went and had a great time.

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 02/10/2015 23:32

Wondering if we were at the same open evening last night?

nancy75 · 02/10/2015 23:35

We just paid £495 for a similar trip, they go on a Monday afternoon and come home Friday afternoon, it's 2 hours away, i would have been happier with £275!

WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant · 02/10/2015 23:38

What's PGL?

Ds had a residential every year in juniors.

First two were local, £80 for 3 days. Ish.

Second two were in Wales. I think they were about £170/180? Can't remember. But his pupil premium covere the 3rd and 4th.

No warnings for y7 trips yet...

PiperChapstick · 02/10/2015 23:40

Sounds pretty standard to me. I thought coming on this thread it was gonna be about £1,000!

WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant · 02/10/2015 23:43

Oh, and the packing lists...

Please get your kid to pack a small case (aircraft hand luggage is ideal) with all the following

3 thick sweaters
7 t-shirts
5 pairs leggins/joggers (not jeans)
7 changes of underwear
Wellies
Walking boots
Waterproofs
2 towels
Pjs
Slippers
Dressing gown
Torch
2 books
Note pad
Pencil case
Warm coat
Hat
Gloves
Camera
iPod
Washing gear
Hairbrush
Teddy bear
Trainers

Youarentkiddingme · 03/10/2015 08:55

Haha yes the packing! A bag that will only dot the coat and wellies in and has a magic invisible extension for the rest of the kit! With a little side note that they are responsible for re packing it independently!

SellFridges · 03/10/2015 09:14

Ours was a week at PGL for £220. In 1993. Yours sounds a bargain!

lljkk · 03/10/2015 09:24

Ours was £200 for 3 full days of activity + 2 half days of activity. But not a package company, just going to a different part of the country and seeing their local sights. £275 sounds quite high to me.

GnomeDePlume · 03/10/2015 09:37

It is a ridiculous amount of money for an entirely unnecessary trip. This is another example of the inflation in school trips which has gone on for many years.

Savagebeauty · 03/10/2015 10:02

I think for Outward Bound that's really competitively priced.
I'm halfway through paying £1500 for a school history trip to Washington/ New York for DS 16 next Easter.
That is his holiday for next year. He is saving up for his spending money.

Original poster
MidnightVelvetthe3rd · 03/10/2015 15:19

Butterfly FP2? :) :)

OP posts:
Sallyhasleftthebuilding · 03/10/2015 15:28

PLg is a company who organises the trips, so less assesments etc needed as they do the leg work.
DS is £440 to france. Local one 20 mins away is £280 ..

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 03/10/2015 16:36

No not FP2 we were at BC Smile

GnomeDePlume · 04/10/2015 07:49

While the trips in Primary are less expensive than the trips in secondary the problem is that there is a major assumption that all the pupils will go on the trip in primary. That can be a huge pressure on parents.

In secondary the trips can be even more ludicrously expensive but at least there isnt the assumption that all students will go on the trip.

I was a governor at my DCs primary and was shocked at how blind the Head was to the circumstances of the parents of his pupils. The economic crisis had passed him by. He assumed that if parents were still in work that they were fine. He had to have it explained to him about cut hours, no pay increases, cut backs on overtime.

millimat · 04/10/2015 08:20

I guess the travel expenses have bumped up the cost. It does seem daft when there are many places a lot closer that they could go to. Between companies like pgl, Kingswood etc there's a lot of choice out there for outdoor places. DR is going to Anglesey and it's£200 Mon-Fri. Even there would be closer wouldn't it?!

millimat · 04/10/2015 08:21

Id pay a regular amount on a monthly basis btw.

Radiatorvalves · 04/10/2015 08:42

My son did Kingswood in year 5 and I thought the cost reasonable. Year 6 is planning a 5 day trip to Normandy for £430. It's language focused and most of the children will enjoy...but it is a lot of money for most people, especially the single mother of twins. We've got to find £100 by the end if the month, and unless 25 children are committed it won't go ahead.

Blu · 04/10/2015 09:15

Our primary subsidized the cost of the Yr 6 residential for all and ensured that cost was not a factor for anyone , extra subsidy for twins etc.

So some of the £140 weeks here might be subsidized .

It was a big feature of the school , lots of PTA fundraising and everyone wanting to support the Yr 6 trip.