The thing is that, alongside the very few extortionate trips, most schools DO offer lots of much cheaper, affordable trips too. So they are offering enrichment opportunities for all.
The fact that very few go on those big expensive trips, is actually fine. The vast majority don't go, and as such won't be left with a sense that they are hard done by, because MOST people don't go. They are by nature minority acitivities. I don't think it is wrong for the school to offer them or that they should restrict their offer to what absolutely everyone will go on.....there is a recognise ton in the offer that some people will go on some trips, others on others and some will attend more than others, in the same way some attend more extra curricular activities than others.
Most schools don't allow individual Deprtments to offer more than one trip to each year group,more academic year, to prevent timetable disruption. They usually make it clear what is essential and what is an extra, and will fund people who can't afford the essential trips.......however, that only works when the majority will pay, so few have be funded by the school. In schools where so few parents can afford to pay or are not willing to pay, few trips occur, because understandably the school can't afford to fund them. It's a real shame, especially when parents could fund them but refuse to.
And regarding whether enrichment is needed - well, it depends.
Some children get very little enrichment or wider life experiences from home. School trips give them a chance to widen their horizons, which they wouldn't be able to otherwise. Yes, those kids won't be going on the £2500 trip, but the day trips to museums and the trip to London or other big cities which they might not have visited are valuable and education is about more than you can learn in books.
Some children have been everywhere and had every experience going. For them, enrichment might not be so vital,malt bough they will enjoy it and gain 'soft' skills from being on trips, as well as subject knowledge.
Most subjects feel that learning comes alive in a way that doesn't happen when all the time is spent in school. Enrichment does.....enrich. However, it costs, and with all the funding cuts, schools simply can't pay.
So the question is, is the enrichment offered value for money for parents? I would say that the day trips which schools offer often do add a lot to a child's experience, both in terms of curriculum, cultural capital and social learning. I would say, that unless parents really cannot afford those trips (and I know some really can't) then it is worth paying for them and even making some sacrifices for them. We are not in a country which can afford to not only provide full time education free at the point of contact to all children, but also pay for the widening experiences that make education so much richer. So I think that Parents have to accept that the whole thing cannot be totally free and they will have to contribute towards these extra activities. There's a lot of moaning about these kind of things.
I've heard people moan about being asked for £10 towards a term of swimming lessons, for £7.50 for the Bikeability course, for £10 for a theatre visit. Yes, it all adds up. However, I don't think those parents who moan think that the individual activities cost too much (all those above are very good value for what is being received) or that they don't think their children would benefit from them......they moan because they think that the state should be paying for everything.
At the end of the day, the choice is, pay up for the enriching experiences, or miss out on the enrichment. If too many parents refuse to pay, or cannot pay, then they won't be offered....and most children's education will be the poorer and narrower for it.