To think the school need to get a grip?

[Tyrozet]

Just had a text from my son informing me of a letter he is bringing home from school about a trip abroad next year.

The cost of the trip alone is nearly £1000 - it is a skiing trip so on top of the basic cost of the trip, special clothes need to be purchased, passports paid for and of course spending money - I'd say all in it will be at least £1500.

It's a state school in a town with many deprived areas.

I know you can just say "no" if it's not affordable but AIBU to think the school shouldn't be putting on trips like this at a time when many families are having to choose between which basic essentials they can afford?

Things are shit enough as it is for alot of people without having the added kick in the teeth that this is completely unreachable at the moment.

IMO not a single second of school time, not a single penny of school funds should be spent on these trips.
They're not... the trips are on weekends/half terms and holidays, and the parents pay for it hence this thread

YANBU school is meant to be offering opportunities for everyone it isn't right to spend school time and resources on a trip for an elite few. They should focus on providing trips that everyone can go on.

My parents could never have afforded expensive foreign school trips, so I never mentioned them because there was no point. I didn’t feel I had missed out because it was never a possibility.

My situation is different and we could plan for our kids to go, with a bit of planning. I’d happily pay for them to have that experience and would prioritise it over other discretionary spending. It would be a shame not to offer any kids the opportunity because some families can’t afford it.

@Tyrozet

I think alot of people have missed my point, or maybe I haven't explained it too well.

I actually think that in a school environment, this sort of trip is divisive and discriminates against people who are from poorer backgrounds.

I understand that not everyone will be able to afford every trip, but this isn't necessary or educational, it's a holiday being facilitated by the school which blatantly excludes a large number of pupils because of their background.

Well-off families who can summon up £200 by next week to enter the lottery for a place will be fine, but others who can't come up with that sum of money with no notice wont get a look in - even if we could afford to save the installments for the rest of the trip.

I completely agree with you. This is just elitism. The vast majority attending will be well-off and have experience of skiing already.

And it’s also irritating because (unless this is a very unusual school) it won’t relate to the curriculum at all. I could agree with some pps justifications if it was to eg learn a language, visit historical or artistic attractions, or to take part in a relevant school sports tournament. This is just a jolly for the privileged.

I think 1k is reasonable for a ski trip as many include lessons. However the local school here uses a coach - 18hours there and back.
The school also runs trips to Japan, and South America at £2.5-3k per pupil. State school.

I never went on any school trip, you had to pay for them all and my mum couldn’t afford it so even the ones where the whole year went I was the kid stuck in the library doing work.

I had some amazing experiences via school trips that I wouldn’t have otherwise done as my parents never took me abroad. I didn’t do the ski one because they wouldn’t let me go.

My daughter’s primary school is big on trips. From cheaper day trips to bigger residential ones. They provide such an important role in broadening perspectives. They were so proactive in trying to get a trip for each class in the school last summer once the covid restrictions were lifted.

My school did expeditions to Kyrgyzstan which were £3000. It’s a state school too but the kids that wanted to go did bake sales and other fundraising events that raised the money they needed to go. There were also skiing and NYC trips that were also very expensive but then again, they’re big trips. 🤷🏼‍♀️

We've never been able to afford ski trips, but I do appreciate the fact that ds' school try to keep the cost as low as possible by going by coach etc. I think the cost is around £750. If you can offer it at that price, I think it's worth doing. Like others have said though, it's always one for just a few to go on.

@Verybritishproblems101

My school did expeditions to Kyrgyzstan which were £3000. It’s a state school too but the kids that wanted to go did bake sales and other fundraising events that raised the money they needed to go. There were also skiing and NYC trips that were also very expensive but then again, they’re big trips. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Who pays the money for the cakes and fundraising activities? It's often still drip-drip from the parents' wallets, including the baking ingredients.

I'd rather have had that £3000 per pupil paid into the school's IT budget or on other educational items - every teacher I know has to buy their own classroom materials, including pens, paper, calculators, art supplies. It's another reason most of them can't wait to leave.

My DS is good at sports and I would've loved for him to go with the school, but they didn't do a skiing trip. You can hire the boots and skis in the resort - no need to buy anything.
Having said that, they did a skiing trip at my school and my parents couldn't afford it. One of my mates went and I did get sick of her going on about how good it was. But that's life, isn't it?

DS1 is going on a ski trip. Until he can pay his own way it's his only chance to do this. Neither myself of DW have any desire, inclination or sufficient death wish (seriously, I'm like a breakdancing Bambi on ice/snow) to do this as a family.

I remember a load of trips that I couldn't go on due to my family background and it didn't fuel some long lasting resentment. It's just life. Not even in Communist societies are all people equal.

@Tyrozet

They ran similar when I was at school many moons ago but thankfully for my parents' sake I wasn't interested.

I understand what people mean when they say they can't call off these things just because some people can't afford it but there must be some middle ground that allows more children to be involved than something that costs almost a couple of months wages for people on lower incomes.

Of course I would love to have money to throw at them for something like this and it's a wonderful oppertunity for those who can afford it - but it still feels shit that there isn't something more inclusive.

I've also just been informed that a £200 payment is required almost immediately to secure a place - so even families who planned to save to make it happen will be discounted due to not being able to pull £200 out of their arse at the drop of a hat.

I'm with you, OP. I agree on the middle ground idea particularly. My school used to have an Activity Week every year. There was always an overseas trip that was out of the question for my parents, but also a UK youth hostel trip that was a lot cheaper, which with a bit of scrimping we COULD afford.

TBH I'm not even sure skiing is that great an experience. I'd only have been mildly interested as a kid. I think staff are also often badly paid and conditions are not great.

Always done this.
Dd1 went
Dd2 didn't
Dd3 won't (not interested, friends not going)
I save my indignation for the "raise £3000 to pretend you are saving some poor africans" stuff in the Sixth form

Where do you draw the line though?

You can't afford a £1000 ski trip, so you don't think the school should offer it (despite some families being able to afford it).

Some families can't afford the £200 for the Yr6 residential - so should no schools offer them?

Some families can't afford the £10 to the visit to a museum - so should no schools offer them?

Some families can't afford the £1 to go to the school disco-so should no schools offer them?

People seem to think the line should be drawn above them, not underneath them. So they are happy for the trips that they can afford, even if others can't afford them, but are unhappy with the trips that they personally can't afford, although others can afford them and will benefit from them.

Ultimately it should either be a range of trips offered, across all budgets, and you accept that you only opt in for what you afford, or it's no trips at all, as some (many!) parents have not a spare penny to their name and can't afford any trip at all.

Very few children tend to go on the school ski trips - it's no big deal.

I went on 1 school trip in secondary school (private). I was on a full assisted place and we couldn’t afford any holidays. I never asked to go because I knew what the answer would have been. Do I think there shouldn’t have been school trips because I couldn’t go? Of course not.
The OP smacks a bit of the posts you see in the run up to Christmas asking parents to consider other people when choosing gifts so that poorer children don’t feel left out. Should no-one enjoy holidays/treats in case someone feels excluded because they can’t afford it? No! It’s a good life lesson, because unless the OPs child is going to be the next Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos there will always be people with more stuff/opportunities than them.

Works out conveniently if you have two full time working parents - hard to know what to do with a 13 year old when there are no holiday activities aimed at them but they aren't ready to be left at home alone from 8 til 6 every day during half term.

Would never do a family ski trip but school ones are reasonably priced as the kids are in dorms and they go by coach. Plus it means not having to try and juggle annual leave to entertain them during half term.
Good opportunity for them to contribute through Christmas and Birthday money as well.

Of course if you are very low income or lots of children, it might as well be a trip to the moon. But if you have two earners on 25k each with just one or two children then it's not impossible to see how a trip can be saved for.

Mine went on most trips, except skiing. 1 because of the expense. 2 the additional cost of equipment. 3 fear of injury.

The worst trip, which I went to the presentation for was for DD to go to somewhere in Africa, it was nearly 2k which was marketed as a charitable payment. The children were expected to fund raise to pay for the trip so therefore if for some reason they couldn’t attend or wished to cancel no refunds! I think the team presenting weren’t fans of mine as I kept asking them questions they didn’t like.

We can afford it but my kids never go on these types of trips, we put the money towards a family holiday and our children are far happier about that.

We in a similar place but many families like us can afford one or two trips for the DC across the entire school years - and may possible get extended family help with them -but can't afford to do trips like this just for family.

Though 1K is on the steep side and persoanlly I found the French trips or adventure trips where culture, or geography and new skills better than ski trip - especially with ski additional costs.

They were such trips at the state secondary I went to but I could never go as family couldn't afford it - was a more affluent area than here but we ceratinly weren't the only children in that position.

There was talk by new governors at DC secondary that future trips wouldn't be allowed for similar reasons - though it does mean many kids like our have fewer opportunties.

They already have fewer extra curriculum opporties no Duke of Edinburgh or choirs/orchestras that other local schools just run. A friends DC at school were doing Duke of Edinburgh though an external group and music/sports - she said there was just so much more running around on them getting kids to places were as their cousins at different school in better social/economic area just had to turn up to school run things for same opportunities.

It will be just another thing that make this school less - not the biggest or most important just another thing that means other local schools are better. I'm not sure what the answer is though - ban at all schools but private? I don't know.

@SpiderinaWingMirror exactly! Schools shouldn’t promote these ‘charitable’ trips.

@Tyrozet

I think alot of people have missed my point, or maybe I haven't explained it too well.

I actually think that in a school environment, this sort of trip is divisive and discriminates against people who are from poorer backgrounds.

I understand that not everyone will be able to afford every trip, but this isn't necessary or educational, it's a holiday being facilitated by the school which blatantly excludes a large number of pupils because of their background.

Well-off families who can summon up £200 by next week to enter the lottery for a place will be fine, but others who can't come up with that sum of money with no notice wont get a look in - even if we could afford to save the installments for the rest of the trip.

So what are the alternatives? No trips that not everyone can afford- that would be no trips. There are no others.

Get a grip. There will always be things in life you can't do because of cost- unless you are a multi-millionaire. Do you think those things shouldn't exist because not everyone can afford them?

Life will always be tougher for some than others.Nothing you can do to stop that.

Missing the point entirely, but it won’t cost you an extra £500. People can get the cheapest Decathlon stuff or hire stuff www.ski-stuff.co.uk/catlist.php?cat_type=m It’s still an expense, but not a £500 one.

I went skiing on a school trip - my parents have never been and would never have taken me. We hired all my clothes. I remember every moment of it 20 years later.

I've said YABU because even though there is no way I could afford to send my kids on it, I don't think that should mean that the kids who can afford it miss out.

There was a similar trip when I was at secondary school and my mum just flat out said "no, sorry, we can't afford it" but there were only about 50 places anyway, out of a year group of 350 so it's not like the poor kids were singled out and excluded.

And like a pp said, there might be some kids who are desperate to go skiing but this trip is the only way they can afford it and their families are willing to make other sacrifices for it/have saved up for ages for it.