Stupid amount of residential trips

[Eruni]

I live in the north west, my DD is in Y7 at a grammar school and I’ve realised the school is obsessed with residential trips.
In Y7 it’s a MFL trip to France in June
Y8 Ski Trip in January then Science trip in the summer, this year it’s to Cologne. Y9 Skiing again then Art trip, this year to Rome. Y10 Skiing again then either History to France and Belgium or Geography to Iceland.

It’s not a rich town, so while it’s a grammar school, most of the kids aren’t stupidly well off, how on earth are parents made to afford all these? Why run so many??
AIBU to think this is stupid.

Just don't do them. Our non grammar school offers Uk residential, Costa Rica, Skiing, Iceland & Barcelona. Fortunately DD didn't want to do skiing or Costa Rica but we wouldn't have put her on them as they would have wiped out our family holiday budget. I think she might like to do Barcelona & she's doing the Uk trip
Don't worry about it.

Presumably some parents moved to the school rather than going to private so attracting these people needs some of the extra curricular to match. Not everyone has to go.

Has always been the way. One of my siblings went on a trip to France whilst at secondary school. I was very aware that this put quite a lot of strain on family finances so completely ignored any similar trip options for myself.

Skiing is offered by the PE department, I guess as a way of including sports they otherwise wouldn’t access. They do day trips to the Lake District for fell running, water sports etc. So I do understand why it’s offered, but offering it to 3 year groups seems silly.
Also I can’t take my child out of school for a holiday but the school can take them skiing for a week every year then to Iceland in the summer and that’s fine!

This is standard in my area.

Kids will already know who has money and who doesn’t. It’s not going to be a huge revelation to them that some are richer.

Mine were able to choose a trip each. DD declined them all saying only losers went on school trips. DS chose a really shit coach trip to Ypres.

Most people will only allow one or 2 trips during secondary, my school ran 3 or 4 a year, you chose (or did none at all). For other families the school trip is in lieu of being able to take family holidays eg my dsd is severely disabled and as a child my other dsd went on lots of school trips but they couldn't go away together because of the situation. I didn't know her then

I guess I just don't see the big deal in there being sports you can't access

Most people can't do skiing or water polo or horse riding.

Trips that actually enhance your learning like immersion does to languages, visiting the ww1 battlefields does to history feel way more important

I think it's fantastic that schools offer these trips. Opportunity isn't a race to the bottom - just because some can't afford it, doesn't mean those who can should be denied the chance.

My DC go to a non-selective state school in an affluent part of London. Not everyone has spare cash but plenty do, and certainly enough for every trip to be over subscribed. Why should they stop because not every child can afford to go? Not every child can go anyway because there are typically 40 places for 240 kids.

My old school used to list regular trips up front so parents could plan which trips they wanted their child to go on and budget as necessary. We did this so that a child didn't get a place on a trip and pay for it only to find out about another trip 6 months later that they preferred but the parents could no longer afford having paid for the other. No school expects all kids to go on all trips!

On another thread people are moaning about the lack of trips/fairs/plays etc at their children's school.

Schools cannot possibly please everyone.

My children have never had a family holiday but I could afford to send them abroad with school. Without that they'd never have gone anywhere. (SEN hassles)

they do't HAVE to go skiing. Many schools offer skiing as an optional trip. The other trips are normal.

My DD is now in her 20s but her school offered similar. She went skiing once and on the history trip to Berlin.
Her best friend went on every trip, one of her other friends went on none. It's nice to offer these things but I don't think any school expects every kid to go on even 1 let alone them all.
Skiing was all just the very sporty kids at DDs school. Art was just the kids who were planning to take art etc.

"Opportunity isn't a race to the bottom"

Summed up beautifully.

Bizarre attitude in the U.K. (and Labour government) that if one group can't afford it, no one should even have the opportunity.

I remember not being able to afford to go on school trips abroad. Don't remember it being a big deal. I went on the close by residential ones

It's absolutely unconnected to the rules about term time holidays.

I'm that kid who went on loads of residential and ski trips. It was cheaper for my parents to send me to do these things. There is no way we could have afforded as a family to go so they chose to send me.

I'm very grateful the school and my parents, especially the skiing. It's a great sport, very social, so I feel I benefited loads. I also got to go to Venice and Budapest with our history teacher and I remember learning loads.

But why do all these trips always seem to be abroad?
I read thread after thread on here about that are people asking for advice on travel to London because they've "never been there before". It's the UK capital.

I went skiing with my school in the early 1980s, it’s not a new thing. My year 6 trip was Holland.

There are a number of opportunities in the school my children go/went to.
There is a residential opportunity abroad for each year group plus the DofE walk/camp if you do that.
This is a big standard comp on the edge of a big city.
I told my children I would pay for them to do one residential and to choose wisely. DS went skiing in America cost me the best part of 2.5k. DD despite many options doesn’t want to go on any of them.
They aren’t compulsory usually no more than 40 children go on each and they are always in the school holidays.

See I had the opposite. Dd2 s school offered 5 days in new York. For what they were charging I took 4 of us to NY for the week

Interesting none of them are in the school holidays at ours.
Skiing is the last week of January the others in June or July.

Because many families will never ever do a skiing holiday if it isn't part of their background / life and they can maybe afford one place on a school trip but not 4-5k for the whole family. A school trip might be a child's first / only opportunity to go and skiing is one of those things you feel a bit of a numpty doing for the first time as an adult. At the very least it will let them see what the whole deal is with lifts and ski passes and what a piste is. There's literally a thread right now about someone feeling out of place because her workmates all ask her where she skis and she's never been. Like all the other trips, they are OPTIONAL ways to broaden a child's horizons. But God forbid we do that.....

Sure it was the same when I went to secondary so 'cough' 35yrs ago or so

I R.E.M. trips skiing and geography and history one

I went to Athens / Greece for history when was around 15 I think

Other friends went skiing - I hate the cold so was never an option

Think geography went to Rome /Italy

Most of my friends went on one school trip abroad over the 5yrs at secondary school

Think we all did a France day trip in yr 1 which is 7 now

You do realise that you don’t need to do them all- and that it’s unlikely they want the whole year group to attend.
choose the ones that are interesting/ fun/affordable

These trips aren't compulsory, I did similar trips at school 30 years ago and loved the experience. I have an only child and I'd rather send her on a school trip with her friends than do a family holiday with her as I know she would enjoy the trip with her friends more. If they weren't offered that would (slightly) affect my choice of school.