to be pissed off at school 'enrichment' trips

[AugustRose]

I know this has been done many times before but I have just received an email about a 4 day trip to Iceland, costing nearly £1000. During the summer there was a trip to South Africa (it happens every 2/3 years) costing £2500.

This is the second time they have done the Iceland trip and they also have an annual skiing trip which is about £700.

These trips are not inclusive and it's always the same children/families (and teachers) who can afford to go. It's a small secondary of about 600 students but 80% will never be able to go on any of these trips. In Y8 DD1 had a 6 day trip to France that cost us £425 (it was good value) however it took us 6 months to pay for it as I really wanted her to be able to go.

I just get frustrated at the lack of less expensive trips/activities which could include many more children.

I'd be interested in knowing how many kids actually go on these trips. I certainly could never have afforded any of them. Why is the school spending time and effort arranging trips hardly anyone can go on? It's all a bit puzzling.

These trips make me really cross too. the most recent one was £3.5k for Vietnam! I mean really? The one before that was £850 for 5 days in Greece.

The ones that really rile me though are the World Challenge... £1k minimum - which the pupils have to slog for, most of which goes to pay for the staff - not teachers - from the commercial companies that run these trips for a profit.

No, just no. I could take all 4 of us to Morocco for £1k thank you.

Totally agree about the phrase 'jollies' for a teacher - it is very hard work.

My DS goes on the skiing trip - I save up £2 coins for two years to pay for it .

Shouldn't some of these kids being doing fund raising etc to at least make a contribution towards the cost?

I do think some trips should be offered and yes, it's a tough lesson to learn that we can't all afford to do everything ......... but some people just choose not to spend their money that way (fair enough) ..... I had a friend who frequently complained about the cost of school trips and never let her children go on them - but she was happy to have seven (yes, seven) horses.

To some extent (obviously not if you are on the poverty line) we all make choices about how we use our money - I seem to be the only person on mumsnet who doesn't have an iPad. .

Camping at the local farmers field was the most exotic our school excursion offered lol

Ragwort when for example you have twins , like I did, it is very hard.

DD is hopefully going on the Iceland trip for geography. Am laughing at the PP who wrote that they wouldn't learn anything! It looks like an amazing trip, they will learn so much.

But it is expensive and really sad that some of her classmates can't go. Not sure what can be done, as the 4 days are packed with trips (volcanoes, glaciers, tectonic plates, geothermal power station, geysers, northern lights - and that's just off the top of my head) and must cost a lot to organise. Should the school subsidise it?

It's crazy, my dd's school is the same.

aliasjoey if the trip is specifically for geography then I thought the school had to include all students doing that particular course.

I took the op to be referring to the trips that aren't tied to a particular subject and are purely for "enrichment" and an interesting holiday. Not a field trip directly related to educational work.

It's not always about making choices, Ragwort, no amount of sacrifices would generate enough money for us to fund these sorts of trips and I expect it's the same for most low income families.
I don't have any horses, although I see your point about moaning horse woman.

Our high school went to africa on holiday paint a school they did half a wall for half a day and spent the rest of the time on safari trips there is no need for schools to offer such expensive jollies imo it was always the same kids who could afford to go

We've had this too so it's fairly common. £3000 for a trip to Namibia, and that was camping!!!!!! I told ds that for that price we could get 5 star luxury accommodation for the whole family.

I do hope to be able to send the dcs on one abroad trip each, finances allowing, and taking a dent in their birthday/Xmas gifts.

Some trips are exceptional, and stuff we would never be able to do as a family - we certainly couldn't do a safari/African orphanage / joburg style trip as a whole family so if I can afford for dd/ds to go I would.

A friends dd went to China with the school - something again we would never be able to do as a foursome. Sending get a child singly with an organisation means they do get the chance.

My DD is at Private school and their trips are very cheap compared to some of those on here!!

My dds went on trips and holidays London for music Belguim/france for history i couldnt afford Africa or Skiing in Italy the Africa trip was half parent funded the rest was fund raising my friend forked out 2k between paying and inoculations (sp) malaria medication insurance. We just couldn't afford that dd wasnt keen to go thankfully it is such a lot of money to fork out.

TwitterQueen couldn't agree more - I did World Challenge as a student & it was an absolute scam. Half of the 'research' WC had done was out of date by the time we got there (so national park prices etc were more than we had budgeted for), one of the English World Challenge staff was a bully who undermined the younger World Challenge guy throughout the whole trip and decided we weren't eating rice (in Madagascar!) because he didn't like it, and the Malagash World Challenge guide was obviously over the moon to be spending a month in the company of twenty teenage girls.. These are all people/services who WE had paid for... Also when we got to our 'charitable work' bit they had no idea what to do with us as we were the third group there that summer!

We would have been better off organising our own trip - would have learned more about logistics too I'm sure.

This has been going on for years.

My children's school would do a ski trip every year, alternating between America and a European destination. Not cheap by any standards but I put money aside each week so both children could do the trips.

Eldest went on a month-long trip to South America but helped to fund that with a part-time job, extra chores etc. That was actually a meaningful trip (helping to build a school, wild trekking etc.) - he literally left as a boy and returned as a man! Can't remember how much it was now but certainly £2,500 plus.

I was lucky that even though I was on a low wage my family helped with the expense. All the other children who went were from very high income families.

Crikey it looks like ours are cheap compared to some then. The Iceland one is a geography trip, however it is open to anyone in Y9-12 to make up the numbers. SA was anyone Y9-12 and the skiing one is anyone in the school who can afford it.

I understand the comments about jollies and maybe that is why it is the same group of teachers, ie the ones who like doing the residentials. However, if the teachers weren't willing they wouldn't be able to offer the trips surely?

My main concerns are the cost as it is out of reach of so many and the students left behind are not getting the same level of education/experience. Secondly, while the teachers are away they have to be replaced by substitute teachers at cost to the school, or other teachers have to fill their classes teaching different subjects - or the children are put together with other groups.

I don't doubt that some of these experiences the children will remember for life but that still doesn't make it inclusive. If it was a once during secondary thing then OK but it is become bi-annual for some.

Ragwort really? I don't have an ipad either as I can't afford one but that is about using money for bills/food/transport/etc. Yes DD went on one trip, but like I said I had to pay it over 6 months and we struggled with that.

I assume its not the school, but some private company throwing in some perks for the school

That's exactly what it is, the presentation is like brain washing, you come out wanting to climb the mountain yourself!

Hmm, not sure really. The party line on MN tends to be "some people can afford stuff and some can't and that's just how it is so deal with it and it's never to early to learn that lesson".

Why not for school trips too?

It's like any arena in life, some will get much more out of it than others.

Personally I don't agree with that philosophy, which is why I take my children on holidays in term time but i have had many a bundle here on MN about it.

Schools ought to offer a range of trips at a range of budgets. However trips cost what they cost. Even a UK activity residential will be a few hundred. If it isn't it's been heavily subsidised by the school.

But if only a handful of pupils parents that can afford these trips (it is usually the same faces that go) then its not very inclusive like the op its not imo a fair opportunity for all pupils

Having accompanied children on residential trips, I can confirm that they are most certainly not a jolly! Bloody hard work, stressful, and I'm tense the entire week! I absolutely love seeing how much the kids get out of them (a whole lot, 'education' aside, they learn a lot of really great life skills, honestly), and they are fun aswell, but as staff on these trips, the time between leaving school and returning all your precious darlings is very very stressful!
The responsibility of looking after 93 kids is great.

My eldest one goes on some amazing residentials. She went to Iceland in October for £1.5K. We couldn't realistically do that trip justice as a five for less than about £10K (have to go during the school holidays, if we all did the activities and excursions she did, flights, accommodation etc). It's probably the best opportunity she will get. She said her absolute highlight was the whale watching - what a truly amazing experience, I'm so jealous!
She's going to Tanzania next year, and then dd2 joins the same school so more trips.
I think they offer opportunities that would be out of reach as a family. They're not compulsory, i think of the 30 available spaces to go to Iceland, only 24 went across the 5 year groups. 30 out of 32 are going to Tanzania.
Dd was the only one of her friendship group to go and she made so many new friends across the school in other years and that's done so much for her confidence.
A lot of her school trips are also during school holidays so not as much of a feeling as others being 'left behind'.

You're correct in that teachers have to be willing, though a certain amount of pleading and manipulation is involved as residential excursions are exhausting.

My school organises larger excursions for during exam leave as cover can be provided in house. I prepare work for all my classes prior and ensure that it is meaningful- another tiring aspect of being involved in trips.

I didn't intend to be dismissive about the cost of these school trips and, as I tried to point out, obviously for those with absolutely no spare cash then there is nothing that can be 'saved' towards an expensive trip.

But I don't think that is a valid reason not to offer them - there are lots of things I can't afford in life - I have had to learn to accept that.

I think it is a shame that 'exchange' trips seem to be going out of fashion, that would be a slightly cheaper way of having a trip abroad and the chance to stay with another family would obviously give a child a lot more understanding about different countries and cultures etc.