Expensive school trip - why do schools do it?!

[Beach1983]

Cut a long story short, letter has come home with school trip for 8 days that is approx £2500 that doesn’t include food/spending money so guessing £500 extra for that, so all in roughly 3k.

Am I wildly out of touch for thinking that £3000 for a school trip for one child is ridiculous? (This is regular state school not private btw).

I feel annoyed with the school for putting parents in this position as obviously the kids want to go and (they say) all their friends are going so parents feel hugely guilt tripped into these things even if financially it’s a struggle!

Just needed to vent really and see if people share my views!

I'm Pope Francis. Its great on the internet isn't it? You can make up any old shit.

Is it a state school? If so that's insane. The vast majority of families won't have 3k lying around. And that's just for one child...imagine a family with three kids having to pay 9k for school trips?

@modgepodge actually I have, my sister is a primary teacher also and she's always laughing at other teachers who moan about how much they have to do. Like try a real 52 week job then go back to teaching and you'll see.

My kids will get taken out for a week and go on a family holiday instead of school trips abroad. No im hella not paying some teachers holiday for them. 🙄
It's utter bs the cost.

Good for you. That'll show them.

DS is a teacher. He was organising a short trip to Paris for his students but landed up binning the idea, after a fair bit of planning, as the cost was coming in at above what he knew the families of pupils at his school could comfortably afford.
Clearly in some areas what would be acceptable isn't in others.

Haven't RTFT but DC went to New York with school recently for 4 days - cost us over £3k. It was worth every penny. An amazing experience, saw lots, walked lots, ate lots. Yes, some of the cost was a contribution to the teachers' trip, but having seen how the students were shepherded and everything organised in minute detail it was worth it. DC had £1k spending money for 4 days (which had to pay for some meals too) and they actually spent about £700. NY is VERY expensive.

Over £3k for 4 days plus another £700 in spending money wow!

Ah just returned to this thread & it's turned into a teacher bashing session. How depressingly predictable.
I imagine that the those of you foaming at the mouth over the free holidays are also just as angry when your child ends up being taught English lessons by an RE specialist or has endless lessons with a cover supervisor. Weird really that they can't recruit when it's such a cushy job 🤷🏼‍♀️

How the fuck did they spend nearly £200 a day??? What were they buying an iPhone a day???

Good... For...you...?

Tee hee.

Everyone knows teachers work 9-3 and get 12 weeks holiday and get to go on freebie trips to NY for a jolly and are paid ever so we'll with no real stress.

It's no wonder there's so many teachers filling the jobs, 50 applicants applying for each role, absolutely no shortages and all the agencies are shutting down.

Yabu op. Yes, it's expensive, but imagine how expensive it would be for a whole family to do the same trip! Some of school trips are experiences of a lifetime for the kids that go, and many would never get the chance to go with their families.

Obviously if it's too expensive for everyone, then nobody will sign up, and they'll have to try something cheaper next time. But if it's in the school holidays it is extra-curricular, so some families not being able to afford it shouldn't stop others from going.

Teachers do it but sometimes a couple of parents help (2 out of 30 possibles)

@margotmargeaux no, not there! There should be a price cut off.

That's extreme. and appalling

I disagree.

People can spent their money on what they like.
You can't tell people not to have expensive holidays.
They may be making sacrifices elsewhere so their child can experience these trips,maybe they're not, it's no one else's business.
It is not up to anyone else to tell them they can't do what they want for their children with their money.

Am sure this has already been said but it's because 1) the teachers don't pay for themselves and 2) it's partly to price out the poorer kids who teachers (not all) feel are typically the worst behaved.

My Aunt has worked in different schools for 30 years and gives me the lowdown on stuff like this. Boils my piss.

And the poorer kid/behaviour thing is also why schools generally do reward trips for no demerits/attendance etc instead of just a nice trip for all.

Why would it boil your piss that staff don't pay?
I'm not giving up my holiday, paying for childcare AND paying to go. That would be ridiculous.

Also I've never known a teacher want to price out poor children. Actually the first trip I took to France, the best best moment was realising lots of the children had never travelled more than 50 miles from home before, let alone abroad.

@MrsHamlet idgaf about the school, I do care about my kids missing out.

YANBU. This is one of the reasons I am glad mine are grown adults with their own life and their own home now. I don't miss all the expense from school at ALL. Especially with having 2 kids only 2 years apart. I shudder now when I think how must stuff cost us, and how much we struggled financially. (And school costs were a massive contributory factor.)

I don't know how we did it. It baffles me that some people have more than 2 kids, and keep having them. Like, how do they afford it all?!

OK. I have though.

Nonsense.

That's pretty clear.