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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To make DS pay for school trip?

130 replies

AtSea1979 · 28/06/2017 20:37

DS wants to go on a school trip in year 8. It's to Europe and it's £700 would you expect your DC to contribute? He's been saving for a Switch console. Should I make him choose? Or do jobs? Or sacrifice Xmas presents and birthday? (Although I'd still end up buying stuff for him to open). Or would you just pay for it all?

OP posts:

Athome77 · 28/06/2017 21:22

Are you sure u need a passport, usually on trips to France my sons school does a group passport, which is included in cost of trip.

Caulkheadupnorf · 28/06/2017 21:25

My parents made me pay part of the cost from when I got a pt job - I was year 9. I didn't mind, but it didn't teach me to have better budgeting skills or anything like that!

Original poster

AtSea1979 · 28/06/2017 21:25

I've never heard of a group passport. Will look in to this

OP posts:

BarbarianMum · 28/06/2017 21:27

If it was a "general interest" trip rather than a specific language exchange or field trip then mine would expect mine to contribute, regardless of what I could afford.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 28/06/2017 21:27

I would expect my child to save up his spending money from his pocket money, and I would also expect him to accept a 'cut back' on Christmas/birthday presents. As in, I'd still buy presents but I'd reduce the overall spend. I have one DS and I could afford this trip, but in that case (for me) it's even more important that ds sees this kind of thing is an 'extra' and extras take effort.

I seem to be out of step with everyone else though! I also don't think these trips contribute one jot to their education. They're fun, good for independence and good for seeing a bit of the world, but they don't suffer educationally if they don't go.

Northend77 · 28/06/2017 21:27

Is this the usual cost of school trips? I have twins who are still in preschool but this is a frightening thought for the future!

BarbarianMum · 28/06/2017 21:27

..then I would expect mine....

ComputerUserNotTrained · 28/06/2017 21:28

Similar trips, ds had contributions at Christmas and birthdays from family in lieu of presents. He still had presents of course (we're not that mean!) and still paid the bulk.

This isn't an essential trip, it's a nice-to-have.

MaisyPops · 28/06/2017 21:30

It would depend.

I know your child is much younger but what I've found when running gcse and a level trips is that as soon as parents say the child should save/pay for it/do the trip instead of something else the numbers drop. At times that's meant having really low numbers for trips that are directly linked to their course.

If it's more on an enrichment trip, could he earn part of it by doing extra chores around the house or family and it goes in the trip fund?

BarbarianMum · 28/06/2017 21:30

There are a lot of this type of trip at secondary Northend. It is quite usual (around here) for a child to go on one or two of them over their time at secondary. I've never heard of anybody going on all of them, although I suppose one or two might.

Oswin · 28/06/2017 21:33

Bloody hell people pay out 700 hundred quid for school trips.

Different world on here sometimes.

Op yanbu. It's not essential. If he wants to go he needs to contribute.

Why on earth should op cut back to pay that much while he still gets full pocket money. Ridiculous.

seasidesally · 28/06/2017 21:36

many school trips in seniors are £700+ its not unusual

okeydokeygirl · 28/06/2017 21:43

At £700 I am assuming this is more an optional trip organised by school (i.e. a holiday/jolly even if it has an educational element) rather than an educational school trip (to support the curriculum). I guess it would depend on whether you can afford it or not. If the money is no object, and you can do the same for your other children when their time comes, then why not? £700 would be a huge amount of money for us so we would have to sacrifice a family holiday to send DD on a trip like this. You may want to get him to do some chores to earn spends. If you can't afford it at all then just say no sorry but can't afford it. If you have £550? (as you seem to indicate this has been budgeted for alongside the other kids) then give him the option of choosing a trip up to that value if available or funding the rest himself instead of buying the Switch console. We have activities week in our school and trips range from free/£10-£15 per day up to several hundred for trips abroad. Our DD desperately wanted to do a residential activity that came to about £250 and chose to have this as her birthday present. We normally buy her activities rather than stuff anyway so for us this worked. She is delighted that she is doing it and has spent months looking forward to it. In fact our school tells us about activities and other planned trips in advance of Christmas. I think this might be so parents can choose to buy these as presents. Kids have so much 'stuff' these days that experiences are much more valuable. Research also shows that the memories they produce are fair more enriching than 'stuff' in the long term too. If you have options then maybe let him choose. He can always keep saving for the console and get that at a later date. If it is not so important that he would prefer to have his console then maybe it is just as well that he does not go and you save the money for something he really wants at a later date.

Oswin · 28/06/2017 21:46

Not the schools local to me. The school my nephews at the most expensive trip was camping and hiking at 150.
Another local schools big trip is to London for just over a hundred.

Occasionally some kids will get to go to France. It's not a regular thing though.

What are the educational aspect of these trips?

It just seems really excessive to me because I live on less than half that each month.

Oswin · 28/06/2017 21:48

And if some are just for fun then wtf is the idea with that? Way to widen the gap between poor and well off kids.

summerlovinggirl · 28/06/2017 21:49

My DS1 (9 so yr4) recently went on a school trip which cost just shy of £200.
We asked him contribute £50 to it. He had to put half his monthly spending money towards it over 4 months, then had to raise the extra by doing jobs round the house.
He liked the fact that he was helping towards the cost of it. Quite a few of the parents also did this with their children.

seasidesally · 28/06/2017 21:50

mine went to bog standard state seniors and there were many trip some over £1k so for us it was normal

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 28/06/2017 21:50

My ds1 is currently at on a residential trip for 5 days 4 nights, we have have paid £328 for this. All his class went and we aren't subsidising anyone for this trip. He's Y6/P7

We had his secondary visit tonight... they have an end of year trip, if he wants to go it will be £1145.

This is state schools also

SuperBeagle · 28/06/2017 21:51

If you can't afford it, then it's that simple. He's old enough to understand that budgets only stretch so far and he'll have opportunities in the future to travel and whatnot.

I wouldn't expect my Year 8 child to contribute to the trip, but I would expect them to understand that if the money isn't there, it isn't there, and it's that simple. You can't always get what you want etc.

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 28/06/2017 21:51

Sorry posted too soon.

I would take the same stance as you OP, he contributes or he does not go.

MaisyPops · 28/06/2017 21:52

And if some are just for fun then wtf is the idea with that? Way to widen the gap between poor and well off kids.
Far from it on most of them.
A child from a wealthy family may go skiing with their family over Easter.
A poorer child's family could never do a family break like that, but they might be able to save and pay for one child to do it.
Plus, many schools that I've worked in have had financial assistance for those who need it through the PTA etc.

Some trips do take the piss that I can think of though.

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 28/06/2017 21:55

Sorry forgot to say as well, we made ds1 (11) pay £160 toward this trip out of his own money.

He done more chores, he plays football at a high level and we have always awarded him £5 for every goal scored, that money had to be put towards his trip. He also cut family and friends garden grass, and washed there cars etc...

He made this money in no time, however we kept this from him and put the extra money into his trust fund.

Stickerrocks · 28/06/2017 21:56

Primary school: £70 - £150 for 2-3 nights at activity centres within a couple of hours from home

Secondary school: 4 nights in Iceland £1,400
2 nights in Germany £450
2 nights in Poland £480
Day trip to Ypres £70
12 days in Borneo £3,200 (plus jabs, kit, etc)
Galapagos islands £4,200 (plus extras)

Start saving now Northend

AuditAngel · 28/06/2017 21:57

DS went on a history trip this year (year 8) about £400, I paid.

Last year he wanted to go on a choir trip to a music festival in Czech Republic. The cost was just under £300, but extra curricular. DS asked for money from grandparents for Christmas to help pay for it £80, plus one granny face an extra £50 as she thought it was a great opportunity.

So he paid almost half.

RainbowsAndUnicorn · 28/06/2017 21:59

I'd not make mine pay for a school trip, it's part of their education and the more experiences they can have the better. I've never made them have anything educational for birthdays or Christmas that relates to school.

Saving pocket money for extra spending money over what we give them is encouraged.

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