AIBU for £900!

[NCsally]

AIBU to think £900 for a 4 day school trip for 13/14 year olds is a tad excessive?? I would understand if it's a private school or even a school in an affluent area but it isn't! It's a poor area with very low wage jobs! Parents can barely afford school lunches let alone £900 for a trip which doesn't even include spending money etc

Seems an awful lot to me - however my kids attended a Swedish school where the LA policy was that compulsory school parents (age 7-16) should not have to contribute more than £10 per year for trips/activities and that included the costs of pack lunches etc.

They still went on regular trips (for local trips an LA van would arrive at lunchtime with LA pack lunches from the school kitchen). DDs did some residentials that were virtually free (a couple of bake sales etc).

• DD1 went on some residential trips plus a trip to Norway.
• DD2 went on a 4 day outdoor activity trip and fully funded skiing daytrip (the LA sent sausages and hotdog buns and the staff who didn't want to ski set up a BBQ)
• the LA paid for an all expenses paid day trip to Stockholm for the post GCSE (Grundskolexamen) classes with dinner and entry to a fun fair included.

At A-level (Gymnasiet) ages the rules were slightly different. We were not charged for anything that happened during a school day but were expected to provide around £5-10 per day to cover dinner and snacks. So a 5 day language trip to Germany cost around £25-50 (no charge for the flights and hotel, hostel etc) and the same for a 7 day trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority - the school applied for grants and stipends to cover flights, hotels and the donations when they stayed in Palestinian family homes

I want a Swedish School....that sounds bloody brilliant.

@jessicawessica
Who pays £900 to wear more clothes on holiday than they do at home

That made me laugh!

ski lift passes hiring of quipment it all adds up for skiing

weekend in bognor-nah

Op, I agree with you and I don't think it matters where the trip is.

OP of course it bloody matters!

Belgium battlefields. No.
Washington DC/New York/meet the President. Possibly.
Private audience with the Queen. Maybe.
Trip to the moon (and back) Hell yes.
ok I'm being a bit flippant but just trying to make a point

You are clearly angry about this but what is the point in spouting off about it if you don't give the full story.

My school ran expensive school trips and none of us went on them

Im huessing it is an expensive location abroad, and not compulsory. So op actually knows she is being unreasonable about the cost of it, which is why shenaontnsay where the trip is to, but is mad at herself because she doesnt want to upset her child?

DH and I work long hours DH away from home. We’ve always welcomed trips like this to break up the holidays for DD. Different families do have different circumstances. I’m not sure that depriving those who want to send their DC on trips of the chance because you don’t think it’s good value and/or affordable for your family achieves anything.

Right. We’ve so far established that the population of this planet extends to at least me, the OP, jule and MudCity. Very glad it’s not too lonely on here.

• I live here too!

Im huessing it is an expensive location abroad, and not compulsory. So op actually knows she is being unreasonable about the cost of it, which is why shenaontnsay where the trip is to, but is mad at herself because she doesnt want to upset her child?

I think that's really quite mean. If it were a High Street travel agent that you could choose to walk into, and then discover that a fortnight in Mexico would cost a lot of money whereas a weekend in Blackpool would cost much less, then I'd have no issue at all.

The fact is that the kids have been told about this trip and a letter doubtless sent home. The letter will state what the trip is and the cost, but in all likelihood, there's no acknowledgement on the letter that it's a huge amount of money and that many parents will greatly struggle with it or not be able to pay it at all. A bit like when car dealerships trumpet that their vehicles are 'only' £15K or whatever, as though the sole thing that could possibly stop anybody from buying one would be if they simply didn't fancy one.

Coming direct from the school would legitimise in most kids' minds the belief that it's a good, reasonable and desirable thing to do - and the 'norm' that most people will go, even though it isn't compulsory; whereas most children (particularly of that age) would understand that much of the stuff advertised on the commercial TV channels or in magazines will be overpriced rubbish and/or out of reach for many viewers and is coming from massive private companies wanting to sell to increase their profits rather than from a trusted government institution whose only priority is ostensibly their education and well-being.

Contrary to what most PPs are insisting, it doesn't matter what the trip is or where the destination. All that matters is that they're sowing the seed and putting pressure on young teens to want to go on a holiday that many of their parents simply will not be able to afford.

Bearing in mind that many struggling parents' reaction to being 'invited' to pay £30 or whatever for the 'school trip' (i.e. you don't have to but all of your friends will be there) to Alton Towers will be one of fear and worry, £900 is ridiculous, even if it were for a month on Venus.

I am with the OP.

If you are senior management at a school in an area where there isnt much money, some (many) parents struggle to pay for lunches, where uniform is a problem due to lack of cash.... why on earth would you put together a trip that would cost £900?

The take up (or lack thereof) will mean that the trip probably wont happen anyway.

The destination could be Skeggy or the moon but it makes no difference if no one has the money to pay for it.

In terms of value it matters where the trip is to. But the OP is questioning whether the school should be using it's resources to offer any trip at this sort of price point when the school serves a poor area and so, presumably, significant numbers of parents couldn't afford to send their kids no matter how good the value is.

I tend to agree OP. State schools should put their efforts into offering things that the vast majority of their pupils could take advantage of and at least something for everyone so it isn't simply a matter of the base, free education for everyone and then an enriched experience for the children whose parents can afford trips.

Are we talking £900 towards the trip of a lifetime, or that they are expected to fundraise towards (world challenge for example) or £900 for grotty uk residential? is everyone expected to go or just a few? are the school offering to help pupil premium kids? is there a payment plan?

It is a fuck load of money, but without knowing more detail who knows if you are unreasonable. £900 for an activity centre I'd say no but something worthwhile with notice I would do everything I could, DS' year 9 trip to Rome I had to beg and borrow and it was hell for me but we had enough notice that I scraped it together, I know DD has year 6 residential next year so im already putting money aside for that, because I know i need to.

I’d actually be a lot more annoyed about trips in the £250-£500 range. A trip that costs £900 will mean that the vast majority of DC won’t be going, including plenty from families that could afford to send them but choose not to. A school trip that costs £300 is going to be a lot more divisive.

I paid 900 for my son to go skiiing in Italy for a week. It's not a compulsory trip, it's during the school holidays so no-one was "left behind" and the trips have been full (40 spaces on a first come, first served basis) twice a year for the past 7 years so clearly there is a market for them. And, To be frank, what my child does in his school holidays are no-ones business but mine. Yes the trip is arranged by the school but it is not a school trip. Our school has a mixture of people in various financial situations.

Trips that take place during term time and are curriculum based absolutely should be affordable for all and subsidised by the school for those in hardship.

Funny username for someone with kids going skiing @nokidshere

My dc currently go to a private school and no school trip including skiing has been more than 500$, but they can ski in the next state.
Actually there was an 1k trip but most of the year didn't go including my dc.

Contrary to what most PPs are insisting, it doesn't matter what the trip is or where the destination. All that matters is that they're sowing the seed and putting pressure on young teens to want to go on a holiday that many of their parents simply will not be able to afford.

Give over. You sound like my mother. Depriving my children because we have never been on a plane, or because we didn't have a holiday at all for 7 years. My teens totally understood the concept of not being able to afford everything that their friends did. And they also fully understand that they have plenty more than some of their other friends.

My first holiday EVER was at the age of 22 when I went to France for the day. We could barely afford to eat, let alone have a holiday.

Begrudging other people doing things because you can't afford them is not the answer.

Funny username for someone with kids going skiing @nokidshere

@Whatad really? You think? . Clearly all mn users have names that are relevant to them?

My children quite like my username

If you think your child would benefit from a week of skiing/canoeing/knitting then book it yourself. Schools should not be used as travel agents.

We are constantly told how stretched school resources are. A nanosecond of school effort spent on sorting holiday trips is time taken away from education.

If it's youth hosteling in the Peak District yes....

If it's a European break it's ok

If it's skiing it's a bargain.

Hm, it's a pretty average price from what I've experienced

Seriously? I know the price includes things like supervision, but, given that they are bulk buying and presumably the kids share rooms etc, how do schools manage to get such bad deals for foreign travel? I could understand it for a ski trip, but for every type of school trip abroad?

A lot of money for a four day trip anywhere in my book, no one goes long haul in four days, too exhausting.

It seems an unbelievable amount with a student population where many/most wouldn’t be able to dream of affording it.

£900 in itself might not be outrageous if eg it is a weeks skiing or a week in Luxor to see the tombs etc etc.

£900 might well not be unreasonable at all in a school with a wealthier intake.

However it it a poor choice all round where the school knows most won’t be able to afford it. There are loads of cheaper school trips of value and which are fun.

There will always be many who can’t afford it no matter what price it is, but a cheaper option would bring it within sight of more pupils.

YANBU.