Cost of year 7 trip

[Cardboardumbrella]

I’ve just had an email with the details of the year 7 trip to PGL, it costs £710!

They have chosen to go to PGL in France which I’m sure hugely increases the prices, I’m pretty sure the primary school trip to PGL was around £400 and in the UK.

AIBU to think that this is a ridiculous cost for a year 7 trip. Also we need to pay the deposit in two weeks time, it seems very early to commit to such a costly trip as there is a fair amount of movement between schools at the start of year 7.

I wouldn’t pay that much .

My Ds came back from a weeks activity holiday for £170 school holiday with scouts

If it's only for limited numbers, that's kind of sad. Basically, it's for the rich kids. But, the rich kids already get so many opportunities. Will they organise a trip that all kids will be able to attend or is this it?

If this was a trip for one of my kids and it cost that much there is no way they would be going £700 is a hell of a lot of money.

Even if you can afford it, you shouldn't pay this. It's totally unnecessary for a school to spend this much on a trip.

Woah! So 16 year 7 classes for example? How many per class?

Ridiculous, why France surely a PGL is a PGL, can understand (maybe) if they were doing something cultural. Surely will be a range of outdoor activities which can be done here unless they are doing something wild like ski-ing. Shame as so many children benefit from these outdoor centres but imagine it will only the privileged few who can afford to do it and may already have done similar. Think school trips should be accessible to the majority not the minority.

Yep crazy although I wouldn't necessarily assume UK would be any cheaper. I've got twins so £1500 - just wouldn't happen. (I do realise siblings can have trips in the same year too!).

Insurance is astronomical. Our primary trips are mostly on public transport now as the cost of a coach and insurance in prohibitive to many parents.

Woah intake of 16, my daughters secondary has 5 with around 135 ish girls and that is their largest on record.

Lovely. Treats for the rich kids. I don't understand how this is allowed in public schools where all kids are supposed to be treated fairly and equally - always such a focus on equality!

If the school can't collect enough money together for a trip for all children through sponsoring or donations it shouldn't go ahead. It is not the fault of the children who have worked hard all year who don't get to go and hear the others being all excited about it.

And how exactly do they expect kids who mums cannot work to afford that even ones who do work likely cant. What a joke

Wow - my kids have just been to the PGL in Paris with the Scouts, bank holiday weekend for 3 nights. That was £300 (including Disneyland Paris). Considering that the crossing will cost the same however many nights they go for, more than double the cost sounds like a lot to me.

Wow. DD1 does to a school where there are a lot of wealthy families, but her end of year bonding trip cost less than £200, and you could pay in several instalments.

8 form entry is normal for lots of our schools

I started secondary school in 1987 and there were 8 forms a year, 250 kids.

My mum could never afford these trips when I was in school. They’d still go ahead, but there’d be a group of us poor kids left behind, watching episodes of The Simpsons in school all day. It’s awful that this still happens.

Belgian
Much as I'm not the biggest fan of some of these trips, that's not what happens in schools.

Usually they overlap with part of the holiday, less than a quarter of the year group go. It's like the PP who said it's not fair for hard working students hearing other kids talking about the trip. There's a range of different activites and trips and enrichment and so on throughout the 5 years of school. Not everyone does everything.

The idea that everyon goes except a handful who are babysat is so far removed from what actually happen.

Eg. Last year our school did a ski trip (not getting into rights and wrongs). It was oversubscribed, school offered payment plans for a year in advance, some financial support was available, names out of hats, attendance on trip was conditional on good behaviour in school for obvious reasons. Students missed part of a week and part of half term. Life went on as normal in school and on their return it was for the students to catch up missing work. Quite literally other than some classes missing 2 or 3 students there was nothing different.

£710?

Ds is going to Rome for 4 nights for 400!

Missing the point totally but 8 and 16 form entry is insane!!

YANBU OP - that seems a very expensive trip.

I was complaining about my DC’s school trip costing £16.50, two of them so £33 for me. That seemed steep to me but I think I was feeling sore having just spent £300+ on uniform .

16 classes gives less than 2500 pupils 11-16... That doesn't sound too crazy. Must be normal in urban areas.

Our school did this and parents voted with their wallet. There was 35 places and only 12 parents expressed an interest.

The trip was then re-scheduled and cost reduced.

It works.

16 classes gives less than 2500 pupils 11-16... That doesn't sound too crazy

You’re probably right - just seems massive written down. I mean assuming it’s what? 30 a class? That’s 480 pupils a year. There’s 570 at DD’s school (11-16).

I wouldn’t pay for PGL in France @£700 in Yr7 just because said child would already have gone on PGL in the UK in Yr6, so wouldn’t be a priority.

I would save up for skiing as 1 DC costs for skiing and tuition would be more affordable (and more likely to happen) than the whole family going, and an opportunity I might not be able to offer otherwise.

I think you need to take each thing on its merits. Hopefully pupil premium and kids from lower income families will have support and opportunities to go on some trips.

My 11 year old is just back from a similar trip in the UK, to a centre about an hour's bus drive from where we live. Cost me £320 for the week, Monday morning to Friday afternoon. All food, activities and equipment included.

It must be the extra transport costs, what can they get in France which can't be done here? A PGL trip is outdoorsy, canoeing, tree climbing and so on. You don't have to go to France for that.

Yes it's a lot of money. You can either afford it or you can't. You choose to pay it or you don't.
I don't understand the mentality that makes people complain about this stuff. It's not essential, it's not a must, it's an option for those who can/want to take it.

It just sounds huge to me. When I was in secondary (25 yrs ago) even the state schools were 3 or 4 form entry or similar. Our local secondary currently has a max capacity of 1500 so 2500 sounds huge.

May have changed by time mine get there is obviously