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AIBU?

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Original poster

Expensive school trip - why do schools do it?!

522 replies

Beach1983 · 12/01/2024 22:15

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!

OP posts:
BCBird · 13/01/2024 06:42

I have run many trips too. It rewarding but very hard work. U are on duty most of the time. It great to see the kids in a different setting and them u. It is not a holiday for the teachers. U usually end up being out of pocket too. The logistics for those teachers who have dependent children is very difficult.

PheobeBebe · 13/01/2024 06:44

That is a ridiculous price. My children certainly wouldn't be going, that would be the cost of a family holiday!

Our school I find expensive but manageable - Spanish trip £700, skiing £1,200, £350 Belgium. They did offer a £4k trip as an experience 18 months ahead of time, so there was time to fundraise - 4 weeks of different activities, hiking a mountain, building a school etc which while expensive I understood the cost. The NY trip sounds waaaaay overpriced.

Fwiw my kids are told they can have one foreign trip with school total, so they have to choose carefully. Doesn't include the 4k trip which was a straight no!

YireosDodeAver · 13/01/2024 06:45

I think yabu.

It's part of life that some families are more affluent than others. It's not reasonable to expect teens from more affluent fanilies to live on the same budget as those from poorer families.

Travel is an enriching experience and beneficial to those students who can do it. Obviously any good state school is fiing to have a fairly large cohort of people from families that couldn't afford (or chose not to spend) £17,000 per year on school fees for private but could readily afford less than a third of that to enrich their child's educational experience in other ways. Loads of people list affording school trips as a benefit of choosing state if you have a choice (lots of people at private schools can't afford these trips on top of the fees)

Its also much cheaper to do anything like this as a school group rather than tryingbto do something similar independently.

I would hope that schools would try to work a subsidy for pupils from lower income families into the structure for these things where possible, but that will only cover a couple of the poorest, not everyone who hinds it a stretch. it's going to be a huge stretch for a lot of people and you mustn't believe a teen who says "all my friends are going" - there will be plenty not going.

Mumof2teens79 · 13/01/2024 06:45

Schools offer trips because they are great experiences.
And often the only way a child will get to experience something.
They cost what they cost.
They are not cheap (and some examples above are expensive) but in my experience it's a lot more affordable to send one child at a time with school than to do the same activity as a family.

We would never go on a family skiing holiday but both kids have now been skiing.
And 3 nights in a major European city for a curriculum trip was pretty good value at £500 I thought.

GreyWednesday · 13/01/2024 06:48

equinoxprocess · 13/01/2024 04:51

They wouldn't volunteer to go if it wasn't fun.

Show quote history

There might not be a lot of volunteering involved. Some of the teachers will be expected to go, depending on which subject/year group is going. I imagine lots of the enthusiastic volunteers might be ECTs who haven’t ever done a residential before…

The trips I’ve been on have been fun, but they’ve also been very stressful at times and that’s without having to deal with a serious incident or emergency.

Krystall · 13/01/2024 06:48

Stephenra · 13/01/2024 06:33

I work as a private tutor (in Hong Kong mind but I think it's a similar situation) and I hear a lot of complaints about this. I also know a bit about travelling and costs and so forth.

I don't consider myself to be overthinking it or being paranoid, when I think these trips are a shakedown, and the schools siphon off a healthy profit.

I wouldn't go. I'd sit down with the nippers and tell them you've sorted out a holiday for the family instead.

As mentioned up thread, this trip cost is very surprising compared to what I usually see at the private school I work for. But I can tell you that we never ever make a profit on school trips. It needs to cover the teachers costs of course, but we expect a full breakdown of all expenses a the end of the trip and if there was a profit versus what we charged to the school bills, then we refund it on the next bill.

AvengedQuince · 13/01/2024 06:51

We've had the DofE practice expedition, French language (cancelled due to covid), and then Switzerland for physics in year 13. Last one was £300 (incl breakfast) plus money for other food. There was skiing but only some middle class children went to that. Why are they going to NY?

StuntNun · 13/01/2024 06:54

My DS came home yesterday with an invitation to a

StuntNun · 13/01/2024 06:58

My DS came home yesterday with an invitation to a Camps International trip to Borneo for £4850. He reckons he's going to fundraise for it. How's a 17-year-old doing A levels and with a part-time job supposed to fundraise that amount of money? I honestly think it's unfair of the school to raise his hopes like this.

TheTwirlyPoos · 13/01/2024 06:59

I've never really understood why people get so upset about these trips. It will be for a very small number of children. If you can't afford it or don't want your child to go for any reason then they don't go. I was never allowed to go on anything optional because we couldn't afford it. That was just life.

As an ex teacher I've run many many trips and we had a very long process making sure the trips were as cost effective as possible. It will invariably be cheaper to go as a family.

Boardingmama2 · 13/01/2024 07:00

FlamingoFloss · 12/01/2024 22:41

I booked a trip to NY today for £771pp for 4 nights/5 days. Obviously no trips/excursions or travel to and from airports

Sorry to jump on but who did you book with? I am looking to book for us for December.

TheTwirlyPoos · 13/01/2024 07:04

@equinoxprocess do you honestly think that's how it works? That's there's no pressure on staff to run trips?

How many heads or deputy heads do u see go on trips? Very very few. Vanishingly few. There's a reason for that. It's because most trips are insanely hard work. Some young or single staff sign up for everything because they have no other commitments in the holidays. And some parts of most trips are enjoyable for any staff. But don't forget any teacher on a trip during school holidays are working during their holidays for no pay and their working day is basically 24 hours a day.

crochetmonkey74 · 13/01/2024 07:04

Beach1983 · 12/01/2024 22:32

It’s a trip to New York, the activities are covered (empire state building all the usuals) but looking online you can get a pass to do all of them for £200 each, so the rest is flights and accommodation is which I’ve found for much cheaper - I can only assume the rest covers the teachers costs to go?

Teacher here who organises trips like these
You are categorically wrong about the money covering teachers to go.
The company offer free teacher places to a ratio of kids.
When we offer a very expensive trip, we insist on the students going fundraising to make half their ticket each. We are trying to show them the value of money.

crochetmonkey74 · 13/01/2024 07:06

Ps we are not allowed to make a profit from the students

megletthesecond · 13/01/2024 07:08

That is a lot tbh.
I've never been able to afford to have a family holiday but one dc has been skiing with school (1.2k) and another goes away this year (1.4k). I couldn't pay for all three of us to go away at the same time.

crochetmonkey74 · 13/01/2024 07:08

DonnaBanana · 12/01/2024 23:53

It’s basically an excuse for the teachers who go to have a jolly. It’s like when you go out for a meal in a group and you handle the money with everyone giving you £20 or whatever and you manage to cover your share with it too 😉

Totally wrong. The finance of a school trip has to be transparent and audited by school finance team

coronafiona · 13/01/2024 07:08

Try having twins!
No financial help with anything and double EVERYTHING.
And no they weren't ivf, not that that should matter

TheTwirlyPoos · 13/01/2024 07:08

Why does every fucking thread on schools turn into just a teacher slag off. So predictable. Every time.

fatandhappy47 · 13/01/2024 07:09

We had this, trip to Bruges. Combined gcse and a level history. I happen to have one in each so was looking at £1300 for a 4 night trip for 2

48 spaces. Names pulled out of hat. Neither got picked. Thank god

TheTwirlyPoos · 13/01/2024 07:10

@DonnaBanana do you think teachers should pay to work on school trips? Your analogy is totally wrong because that's not how it works anyway but you probably won't accept that anyway. But on a fundamental basis, do you think people should have to pay to go to work during their holidays?

crochetmonkey74 · 13/01/2024 07:12

Coolblur · 13/01/2024 00:15

If so many teachers don't like these trips because they're done in their own time, the responsibility etc, why don't they individually, or collectively refuse to take part? Surely it isn't mandatory to go? So there must be something in it for them.

They aren't going . School trips have massively declined in numbers as younger staff are unwilling to go. Likewise lots of other extra curricular offers like DofE

Grandmasswag · 13/01/2024 07:23

Ridiculous. At the end of the day it’s just a modern city, and not a particularly nice one. There are far more interesting cities in Europe. For that money I’d expect them to go somewhere really incredible and have an experience that they will be unlikely to have again, that will really broaden their minds. We did an exchange 2 weeks each way with a a very different part of the world when I was at school. That sort of once in a lifetime trip maybe you’d pay 3k if you could manage it but New York ?

LostFrog · 13/01/2024 07:23

Agree. We live in a deprived area and our school decided to plan a trip to Japan at a cost of £5k each. So about 10 kids will actually go, and it has sod all to do with the curriculum anyway, but takes teaching staff away. It’s madness.

TheaBrandt · 13/01/2024 07:27

I know it’s fun frothing about it but if you can’t afford it don’t go. Hardly any of the kids go on these expensive trips so it’s not as if numerous teens are sobbing into their pillows because all their pals are going to Costa Rica and they aren’t.

We find the school ski trip helpful as a chance for an our dc to learn to ski as we don’t go as a family as Dh doesn’t want to. Think the school one was £1200 which is pretty much what it costs to go skiing in the alps.

MissSookieStackhouse · 13/01/2024 07:31

My step daughter’s school (ordinary comp, not private) ran a trip to South America and the price tag was £3,400 each! It included an element of volunteering to build a children’s home or school in a remote area, so they were encouraged to fund raise to pay for it. She didn’t go, I don’t know how many did.