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.

What?

What Totallybonkersmum described was normal for the ski trips from my school but that was over 30 years ago. I would have thought thinks had now improved hugely.

DH and I both have full on jobs and work long hours. We have 14 year old DD. She's obviously too old for any sort of holiday schemes, but it's bleak for her to be at home in the holidays with no one else here all day. She's also not that keen to come away with us and turns her nose up at most suggestions. She's the youngest of three and wants it to be like when her brothers who are in their 20s were still here and we had family holidays.

School trips are an absolute godsend to us in breaking up the school holidays for her, giving her interesting opportunities and company her own age. Next year she has Germany in February, Edinburgh at Easter and France in October so nothing massively exotic but adding up to well into four figures.

I do appreciate not everyone can afford every trip but we all have different lives. Some DC who can't go will have siblings at home or a parent who doesn't work or works part time or is a teacher so is around all holiday. DD might well say she would swap with them. We all have to make the best of how our life turns out.

If schools want to run very expensive trips, and people are willing to pay for them, I suppose that's fair enough (although I fail to see the enrichment provided by my nephew's very, very expensive trip to Disney Paris). However, they should also be offering far more affordable trips alongside the £4K trips.

I also know that trips with my school were rife with inappropriate behaviour. But that goes for the camping trip to the lakes as much as the French exchange. Teenagers will find opportunities to drink and have sex wherever you take them.

State schools should not be offering holidays. State schools are not travel agents or tour operators. These trips are out of the financial reach of the majority of parents. School resources such as teacher goodwill and office time is taken up by them.

If parents want their child to go on holiday without them that's their own business but the school should not be involved at all. For example PGL and YHA holidays can be booked directly by parents.