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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to object to £50 school trip

285 replies

puffyisgood · 13/01/2019 16:20

Outer London state primary [lots of affluent parents but also plenty who aren't], yr 3 kids. Matinee of a [fairly popular, fairly new, child friendly] West End muscal. The trip costs parents £50 per child. The school coffers may even be topping up these contributions a little bit [e.g. to pay for transport & for helpers]. As I understand it the tickets were block booked in advance [of the trip being announced] for the entire class. As with all these things parents can announce that they're not paying, but with prebought tickets the money will have to come from somewhere. All the kids want to go of course. As it happens we can afford it easily enough but I know that plenty of other families can't.

I'm mulling over a stern letter to the head. Reasonable or not?

OP posts:
rattusrattus20 · 13/01/2019 23:52

Looks like I outed myself as having multiple accounts on multiple devices, strictly due to bad password management rather than anything sinister.

loubluee · 14/01/2019 00:02

Lol oops OP

But seriously ds had a 2 night trip from wales to London, to see a show, eating out at two restaurants I can’t remember the names of 2 days running and obviously 2 night hotel stay for £150 per child.

GnomeDePlume · 14/01/2019 06:09

While West End shows, ski trips, PGL holidays etc can be nice experiences for children, I dont see why it is in the remit of school to provide them.

We get told often enough that schools struggle for resources which include teacher goodwill, admin time etc. It seems frivolous to waste any valuable resources including time on trips which, while nice for the child, are not a part of what school is for.

Aeroflotgirl · 14/01/2019 08:04

Not really craft,especially for a school trip for 1 child, enormous waste of money. How do you know the finances of most people🤔

SleepingStandingUp · 14/01/2019 08:11

It’s tricky as it would be a shame to never do these things as some can’t afford it

It would be. Lots of parents want a school that offers plenty of opportunities

But if you have a school of mixed catchment then surely the school has enough intelligence contained within it to work out how to access cheap opportunities.
So a local theatre show - smaller theatre, community theatre, linked to a local Uni etc. museums, art galleries, the beach, a canal trip.

Then YOU can take your child on the more expensive cultural trips

Gentlygently · 14/01/2019 08:14

We have a similar primary and a more expensive school trip last year. I can afford it but figured it was easier for me to say to the head it was too much than for someone to say that if they were embarrassed not to be able to afford it. So I both emailed and spoke in person.

nellieellie · 14/01/2019 08:16

I think £50 is too much for a state school in a mixed catchment. If it were me, I’d email to give that view. It’s not all about whether you yourself can afford it, as you say. If this will be an issue for some parents then it’s incumbent on everyone to make the point.

NoParticularPattern · 14/01/2019 08:20

I’d not be able to afford that and not have to make serious cut backs elsewhere. That’s our food for over a fortnight just to give some people perspective. I could understand your problem with it if you were one of those families, but if you can easily afford it it’s going to look a lot like you are just looking for a reason to have a row. I’d be uncomfortable having someone who could easily afford the trip advocating for the likes of myself who couldn’t. I have my own voice and I can use it, I don’t like the idea of being used as an excuse to whinge at the school and to make someone else look oh so in touch with the world because they’ve realised that people like poor old me can’t afford it. It really isn’t your fight

SleepingStandingUp · 14/01/2019 08:32

It really isn’t your fight
So you prefer a world where the rich just look after themselves and ignore anyone who isn't doing as well as them, I mean who cares, it isn't their fight is it? Food banks, benefit sanctions, low wages. The wealthy really shouldn't speak on such things

LoisWilkerson1 · 14/01/2019 08:35

Yabu. Some kids will never get to see a west end show as the cost of a family to go is too much. I think its great they can go with the school for £50.

LoisWilkerson1 · 14/01/2019 08:39

Also, where do you draw a line? Will we end up with no trips at all? There's a social fund at our state school to help cover costs maybe speak to the school about helping with something like this rather than complain about a trip lots of people will want to do.

NoParticularPattern · 14/01/2019 08:40

@SleepingStandingUp don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want someone having a row with the school on my behalf without good reason. If I’d mentioned it to them then fair enough, if they’d heard some people talking about it then fair enough again. But to take it upon yourself to fight my corner for no reason other than it makes you feel good isn’t on. It really isn’t their fight unless someone has expressed a desire for them to support their point of view. I’m perfectly capable of expressing my own views and explaining my situation, if they’d like to support me then great, but that’s not what the OP was asking. She’s taken it upon herself to somehow be a mouthpiece for the poor.

Howmanysleepstilchristmas · 14/01/2019 08:41

That’s my weekly food budget (4dc). If all 4 were invited on the trip, that’s £200= a month’s food. How much notice did you get?

RosemarysBush · 14/01/2019 08:47

It does seam expensive. But I think it’s ok to offer the odd more pricey trip, if lots of notice and payment options are given. Especially for poorer families, it’s might be the only opportunity a child gets to do that thing. As a pp said, might scrape money together for one child to go with school, but for whole family to go is unachievable.

MsTSwift · 14/01/2019 08:48

A positive thing to do rather than righteous complaining would be to organise an event (if there’s a pta) to fund those that can’t afford it.

MiaKolpar · 14/01/2019 08:51

My DC are at independent schools, and there's no way I would/could be paying £50 for a trip on top of fees. I have said no to various trips due to the cost of them.

MiaKolpar · 14/01/2019 08:52

Lois, btw my DC have never been to a West End show. They've never been abroad. There are millions of things they have never done. So long as I am paying school fees, they won't be doing them, either...

Spudlet · 14/01/2019 08:52

How on earth have they got to £50 as a figure if they're in London already? Surely there must be discounted tickets available for school groups for a start - and I've seen school parties taking the Tube in their little hi-viz vests, so transport shouldn't be that much. It must have been possible to do a trip for less than that. £50 is ridiculous - it's an amount of money that we coild afford but we'd feel it a bit for that month, and as many have said for some families it would be impossible.

BunsOfAnarchy · 14/01/2019 08:57

Thats absolutely ridiculous. Whos bright idea was it to organise an event thay would cost 50 quid per child?!
Even though i can afford it, id rather not send my child to an event where only those with more financially secure parents will send their children and all those who cant will have their children left behind. Absolute joke

irregularegular · 14/01/2019 08:58

I think that for most primary school aged children, there would be better things to spend £50 on. The money wouldn't be an issue for us, but I would still slightly resent someone else deciding that is how I should spend it. I would feel differently if it was secondary school and this was to see a play they were studying (those trips have cost us about £30 I think, but that includes transport from outside London). If everyone in the school donated £50, then I think there would be more worthwhile things you could spend the money on. 200 kids times £50 is £10k!

And for many people £50 is a lot of money.

chipsnmayo · 14/01/2019 09:02

Admittedly this is 10 years ago but I paid roughly £50 for DD's primary school three night residential!

£50 for one day, madness!

irregularegular · 14/01/2019 09:02

I'm sure if you asked all parents, 51% or more (therefore most) could afford £50.

Depends what you mean by "could afford". There is a difference between being able to find the money and still being able to pay the bills and feed the family, and paying without going "gulp, that's a lot, think there are better things I could be doing with that £50". We have a household income well over 100K and I still think it is quite a lot!

LoisWilkerson1 · 14/01/2019 09:05

mia but I'm assuming you don't expect the school not to offer these trips? I don't think it does kids any harm not to go abroad or go to see shows etc. My dc don't get everything they want, that's life but I still think the school isn't doing anything wrong in this case.

northumberlandgal · 14/01/2019 09:10

£50 is ridiculous. West end shows are bloody expensive, hence my kids have not yet been to one. If our school did this, I am lucky enough to be able to afford to send mine. However, I would not be happy just like you,OP. I don't think our school would do this though. Only residential trips cost more than pretty nominal fees, and they are half price for FSM kids, and only around 50% kids go anyway for many reasons. They would just not propose a whole-class trip for £50. And I'm in the London suburbs too.

Cornflakedout · 14/01/2019 09:13

As it happens we can afford it easily enough but I know that plenty of other families can't.

If you can afford it, why not give the school £100 and ask them to add so done who can't?

Boom! You feel good, a child who got told they couldn't go feels great, and the school don't have to eat into their budget to pay

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