AIBU?
Taking a 16 year old out of higher education for holiday
tigwig76 · 15/10/2018 09:27
Is there a 'best time? Really want to take the kids back to Florida. Dd is in Yr 10 now so can't take her out of school until after exams. Then it would be busiest times in theme parks which when spending thousands I want to avoid. Was thinking of adding a week or 2 onto a half term. So either Oct, Feb or May. But as she's the eldest have no idea how disruptive it would be or what she will even be doing. I'm presuming she would take any work with her and have to make up placement time if applicable?
unfortunateevents · 15/10/2018 22:42
So if she's in college she will be missing two weeks of the A level syllabus and if she's doing an apprenticeship you think her employer is going to be ok with her just taking off for three weeks? College is not like school, I'm sure she can go but it's a huge chunk of work to make up, the amount of material covered compared to school is much greater and no teacher is going to be ensuring she has worksheets or providing catch-up sessions - it will be totally up to her to catch up on the work - or not.
tigwig76 · 15/10/2018 22:45
Yr 10 is her current school year. OP should say further education not higher!
It's possibly an issue as I have no clue about college courses etc now as I left college 25 years ago! I just wanted opinions on which month would be the least disruptive to take her out.
Have considered Aug but my youngest struggles with extreme heat and the cost is well over £2000 more compared to term time.
mumtomaxwell · 15/10/2018 22:52
I teach Y12&13 - don’t even consider missing any school/college for something so trivial as a holiday. She will find it a nightmare to catch up. I have 2 students in my Y13 groups who went on holiday together in June... they still haven’t got up to speed with where they need to be! If your DD chooses a vocational route post 16 - either at college or apprenticeship it’ll be even worse because those courses are often portfolio based, which involves continuous assessments.
garethsouthgatesmrs · 15/10/2018 22:54
I am a teacher and I would probably say February is best, October is very early in a course and may be a time that you would get your first lot of feedback so if she is struggling you wouldn't want her having a week off then.
While she can't expect a teacher to provide work she should be able to copy notes from a friends and catch up on any worksheets and activities. I would say 1 week missed should be the maximum and she should arrange to borrow friends notes on the monday and use her non contacts and evenings that week to completely catch up.
A week off from A-Levels is not ideal ever so you need to reflect on whether its worth it, it could lead to her dropping crucial marks. I have no idea about apprenticeships but if they don't have holiday allowance then you may not be able to just take her out, it may risk her place. She would have to look into this.
ShadyLady53 · 15/10/2018 22:57
Would you consider going during Christmas holidays? I’ve been there at just before Christmas and the weather was good, only chilly in the evenings, could go swimming in the day. It’s one of the cheapest times to go too. The parks are busy but we managed fine and they a beautifully decorated and there are extra shows and events.
unfortunateevents · 15/10/2018 22:57
In case you think I'm just weighing in to say it's a bad idea, I have a son in Yr 13 at the moment and even he is fretting because his chosen university course requires interviews so he is potentially going to miss five days of college to do this. He's a reasonably diligent student (but not excessively dedicated!) and is worried about how much he will miss in five, separate days - never mind two weeks taken in a block!
PrincessTwilightStoleMyToddler · 15/10/2018 23:02
At that age (sixth form/AS or A levels, planning for university applications) a term time holiday would have stressed me out to the extent that I would have know I would not enjoy it so would have been unwilling to go and would have chosen to stay at home. Are you prepared for her choosing not to join you? I appreciate I was probably at the highly strung end of the spectrum of teenage stresshead behaviour but I wasn’t alone in that!
HeddaGarbled · 15/10/2018 23:05
If it’s a vocational college course, February would be best. October is too early in the course and in May she’ll be under pressure to get assignments finished and in the middle of exams if she has any.
Keep it to a week, not two weeks, and if her attendance rate is good throughout the rest of the year, she’ll get away with it. We have kicked students off courses for poor attendance though, so if she’s approaching the holiday with a poor attendance record, that week could be the absence that gets her kicked out.
tigwig76 · 16/10/2018 08:34
Some very fair points thanks. I understand to alot of people it seems totally irresponsible and I would feel guilty and hate for her to be stressed or miss vital work. In the past when we've been she's missed 7 days total from school. So 2 days before half term then a week after. Christmas is the busiest time ever to go so not an option. Easter is second to that. If we go straight after gcse's then it's start of American school hols plus it would mean taking her brother out of primary for the entire time. It's difficult because we are all wanting to go back again so much. It sounds really daft but she has had such a shit time at school with one thing or another, changed high school due to bullying and when we are in the parks as a happy family away from it all she's like a different child. Although other holidays are good, nothing else compares. The thought of not being able to go again is depressing! Maybe we will have to seriously consider end Aug. But financially that will be much harder and the heat a big concern. Thanks for opinions.
tigwig76 · 16/10/2018 12:13
It's the crowd levels at Easter. Even in Feb can be really busy. I'm going to price up Aug and hope for the best! Maybe flying indirect will have to be an option.
It's not that it only takes 10k to make her happy. She can be happy on other holidays lol. Its not just for her either its all of us. Just the whole holiday is fab and it's like another world I guess. I think it would probably be the last time to go as a family as well as it's unaffordable every year and after that she will likely want to go with her friends. That's why I want it to be extra special and go for a little longer if we can.
Musicalstatues · 16/10/2018 12:51
When we went in August we did it so we came back as late as possible in september, literally landed the day before my eldest went back to school, which made quite a big difference to the price of flights.
I totally understand about the holiday - we go every year. Nothing else quite like it!
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