In thinking almost 5 grand for a school trip is beyond the joke ??

[BabySharkAteMyHamster]

We live in a town with a massive, rich poor divide. A lot of jobs here are highly skilled so if you can't do those there's little else. It has massive pits of deprivation as well as very wealthy areas.

There are two schools. One being an academy in the middle of one of the poorest areas of the town but also next to an estate where houses sell for upwards of 500k.

Who the hell thinks these trips are a good idea ?? It serves nothing but to highlight the massive rich poor divide and yet again kids who have heard 'no' pretty much from the day they were born will be on the outside looking in whilst the wealthier kids swan off on a month long trip to south America to build schools and lord knows what else . Options are pay half now and half later or pay £60 per week for the next 2 years (( my food bill ))

Why the hell arent these things capped ?? £1000 yes, families could make cutbacks over 2 years and give their kids a chance to experience life outside their barrier but 5 grand is just an impossible task for so many.

Considering so many schools these days obsess over stupid details on school uniforms so that 'every child is equal' isnt it a bit odd they seem to think it's ok to constantly remind them just how unequal they actually are 🤔🤷‍♀️

[FuzzyCustard]

Don't send the kids. What does the average schoolchild know about building? Let the rich parents pay the money to local grassroots organisations who will use local labour to build the schools. Win all round.

[HaroldsSocalledBluetits]

Agree completely that there are many many issues with voluntourism and rich kids playing white saviour. Do these kids have an innate knowledge of how to build schools? Is that how it works in Surrey? If they were really bothered about poor non western people they'd raise the £4k and give it to local projects that actually do useful work rather than spend it on plane fares and twatting around with shovels under the misapprehension that they can save the world by dint of their mere presence. The entire thing just plays to ignorant arrogance and I'm amazed at grown ups supporting it.

[FuzzyCustard]

Ah Harold, you put it so much better than I did!

[FluffyMcCloud]

I too have issues with charity tourism. If young people really want to do some good then volunteer for the local food bank, get a job in a charity shop, volunteer in a care home. If a community in Africa needs a school to be built then they need to be armed with the skills themselves within their community to do this, not some 16 year olds with no experience. I agree with PP that it’s a very middle class virtue signalling passtime and actually not very helpful. If young people have a passion for a community in Africa then they can use their fundraising ideas to raise money for established charities who are already making a difference. In my opinion these world challenge trips are never about kids actually wanting to make a difference to anyone but themselves.

[callmeadoctor]

Laughing at school kids helping to build schools! Yeh, right!

[TinySalmon]

I've been on a few school trips abroad in my time (private girls school). I remember one 3 week trip costing my parents just over £2.5k (+ £1,000 spending money) but this is going back about 15 years, so £5k now seems about right.

I'm surprised though that this is allowed at a state school where they know there will be families who absolutely cannot afford something like this. Ridiculous and utterly divisive.

[HaroldsSocalledBluetits]

Great minds Fuzzy

[SteamTrainsRealAleandOpenFires]

Do the children get taught upto date H&S rules and use to tools safely, while on these trips.?

[LeeRoar]

£5000 for a school trip is ridiculous.

We had a customer in work talking about her son who'd gone on a trip that cost about the same, his class went to volunteer in Africa and build a school and go on Safari.

Personally I think the town would have been happier with the £5000 donation than a class of in experienced 15 year olds trying to build a school.

[Furrycushion]

And I really hate being asked to go to a quiz/race night/ buy raffle tickets to fund a holiday that I can't afford to send my own children on.

[LunaLovegoodsRadishes]

We could never afford £5k. That's ridiculous. I have about that in my life savings, total.

In primary we were offered two trips in one year, one on a farm trip to Wales, and another to the Isle of Wight, sailing and canoeing and whatnot. We could afford one, but not both, and they were £450-ish each. Our daughter chose the farm trip. Not many parents could afford both and the school (whom I assumed had paid in advance) struggled to fill the IOW trip. They kept badgering us with a "fantastic opportunity". In the end it had to be cancelled. I wasn't surprised. Who can come up with £900 from some family budgets?

[reallybadidea]

@Bluejava 4k each for a 1 month but they are encouraged to self fund.

How? You'd struggle to earn that through a Saturday job.

[specialsubject]

unless your kids are qualified builders, do not send them to build schools just because it is abroad. They will be useless at it and are taking work from locals.als

never support these trips - unethical ripoff.

[LesLavandes]

My son goes to a famous boarding school. There are always trips on offer and nothing likr this expensive

[specialsubject]

excuse the mn ' stutter' - crap coding.

[HaroldsSocalledBluetits]

Those saying to complain to the school - you are right - who should we complain to? Ds1's school actually had some goon come and do a presentation for one of these awful organisations. Do I write to the head or the governors? (Secondary school.)

[BrokenWing]

My work colleague son is going on a £3k school trip to build a mud hut or something in Kenya. They are paying £300 and are expected to fund raise the rest.

I have told her, while I think school trips which encourage independence are brilliant, I am shocked a school or parents expect others to pay for their holiday and not to ask me for any sponsorship.

[MaisyPops]

I don’t have much time for World Challenge. £4K plus to go somewhere exotic for a couple of weeks and spend a couple of days fixing a school roof to make it look like a charity mission. I’m pretty sure the locals would much prefer a sizeable cash donation so they can get skilled local people in to do any work and spend the rest on essentials they need. But yeah, charge middle class kids a few grand to have a posh camping trip abroad
I agree. It's a very expensive way of doing that type of trip too.
I costed up an alternative one (X number of teachers go to work with the school and teachers there. School can bring Y number of studnets with the teachers who are offering skills etc) and it was half the cost of World Challenge and it mean skilled professionals were helping fill a gap needed in the local community.

It all feels very much middle class gap yah voluntourism.

Plus people saying the kids fundraise miss the point. If you are from a deprived area and know people who don't have much money fundraising is much more difficult than if you're affluent and your professional parents will run get mates and colleagues to sling £10 your way for each activity you're doing to raise funds. No doubt the parents will pay themselves on the back too about how their child managed to fund raise their trip all on their own when anyone comments on the extortionate cost of the trips (whilst conveniently being blind to how their affluence has given their child a leg up).

[letstalk2000]

I'm wondering if the schools concerned have a 'PDQ' machine to take payments ! Perhaps a 'Coutts' Centurion card will do nicely...

[Mamabear12]

5k to go to dubai? I find that hard to believe, as you can get tickets for 500-600 GBP and I am sure they can find some hotels that are not 500 a night?!?! I used to live there and its not that expensive.

[viques]

papayasareyum precisely, I am sure the local communities would far rather have a fraction of that sort of cash coming into the community to pay wages for local people to do the work, local suppliers to provide the materials, and who knows, their wages could then pay for their children to actually attend the school!

I am pretty sure there are UK based charities who could do with willing bodies to clear streams, plant trees, paint community halls etc but I doubt if they sound as attractive or have as much boasting power for the kids presently in their freshers weeks at University........

[CherryPavlova]

I think offering trips to broaden horizons, open young people’s eyes and help them learn about the world can only be good. I dislike expensive ski trips but if it’s France by coach rather than Whistler, more children will be able to afford it.
Many schools and academy chains offer financial support to enable more pupils to go on Battlefields tours, trips to Auschwitz with Holocaust Education Trust or pay for music tours. I know at least one chain that offers a trip to London with live theatre trip, the Crow Jewels and parliament tour and a ballet to children from very challenged communities. The same chain also ensured all children had a weeks sailing and a week in a mountain centre.
World Challenge and DofE are meant to offer opportunities for all but realistically target the middle classes. Some schools remain true to the intended aim and pupils raise funds throughout the preceding year. Then it’s a good thing - although ‘volunteering’ is a bit of a misnomer.
We shouldn’t stop all children having opportunities because some can’t afford it. We should look at how to enable everyone.

[letstalk2000]

Perhaps the £5k includes daily afternoon tea at the 'Burj' !

[cheminotte]

I agree the school should only be offering trips that a large proportion can afford.
World challenge is modern day colonialism - third world countries don’t need white kids coming to do a bad job of painting / brick-laying etc, much better for skilled locals to do it.

[MaisyPops]

I am pretty sure there are UK based charities who could do with willing bodies to clear streams, plant trees, paint community halls etc but I doubt if they sound as attractive or have as much boasting power for the kids presently in their freshers weeks at University
Naturally.
"I've volunteered for my local women's refuge or helped renovate a community centre for a local youth charity" doesn't have the same pretentious story telling ability.

First rule of voluntourism: unskilled young white westerners single handed my bring joy to children and animals the world over. Who cares if these children have huge amounts of trauma and attachment issues, they need a revolving door of 18 year olds taking selfies with them to really feel they have a future.

Second rule of voluntourism: thou must always find a tenuous link to your gap yah whenever possible

oh yah yah... That's totally like when I was on my gap yaaaah. We were in Vietnam and oh my gawd you just wouldn't believe these children. Like, they had nothing and there was paint flaking in their dorms so you'll never guess what we did... well yah.. We bought the paint and painted the form!! I know. Their faces were priceless. You couldn't imagine how happy they were. (Shows all the Instagram photos of smiling children). Anyhow, we were simply blown away with it all. It was a really moving experience and emotionally draining so we hired bikes and motorbiked to Cambodia and found the most amazing bar on a totally rurual beach waaaaay off the beaten track obviously. Totes legit yah. And we had a few drinks and watched the sunset, but the faces of the children made the trip yah