Can't afford Dd's very expensive school trip

[Wario54]

My DD is 15 and in year 10 at the moment. We live a deprived part of the North of England. She goes to a local, state comprehensive

My DH has had his hours reduced at work in recent months. I work part time in retail (can't get anymore hours unfortunately - I have asked). Like a lot of families, we're financially struggling to keep our heads above water. But we get by (somehow) and I never take the little things for granted (that we have each other, food on the table and a roof over our heads). We've not told our kids about our financial worries - they know there isn't much spare money but not about the extent of our problems.

Dd has come home tonight with a letter and great excitement about another school trip. They had a guest speaker today (external travel company) in assembly today enthusing them about a trip to Borneo of all places. It's 4 weeks long and the cost is £6,500. Currently planned for June/July 2027 (just after her GCSE'S). They are expected to fundraise some of the cost themselves (bake sales, sponsored walks etc) but we will have to pay the majority if she's to go.

She said today that she'll get a Saturday job to cover some of the cost herself. But even with that, taken into account we just can't afford it. It breaks my heart, because I'd love to give her that opportunity but I know we simply can't.

She's full of excitement about trekking through the jungle and cuddling Orangutans. But how do I tell her when she's already set her heart on it? 😢

I just think the school are being completely ridiculous by offering such an expensive trip in a cost of living crisis.

Wow. No.

I know that people fundraise for these trips, but that can be problematic too. My brother has 3 sons in a posh school who all went on trips like this, they had everyone in our family and circle of friends damned with all sorts of (crap) money raising events. Brother is well off, the rest of us are not, but we were guilted into helping to fund his dcs bloody trips.

That's utterly outrageous. Just shows where "the head" of state schools is at.

If that was offered at my's DD12's school she'd be the one telling us she doesn't want to go as the cost is far too much.

For those out there with a 2wk October half term £6,500 would cover 2 weeks AI in the Caribbean/ Mexico All inclusive.

The most sensible reply yet.

I recall being at a summer school as a helper. Most of the kids were climbing through the windows at night,drinking and having unprotected sex.

In my house I'd laugh at the idea tbh. My dd is well aware that this is unrealistic and unreasonable. We discussed the ski trip and that was a hard no also. I dont believe you should use the family budget in such way for one person

I don't generally agree with the 'school trips are a holiday for teachers' view but are there really loads of teachers signing up to run a completely optional, very unaffordable, very controversial, ask your family and friends to pay for you to go do some pretend charity work and then go on holiday holiday when they find the whole thing super stressful and don't sleep for four weeks? Why enable these dodgy companies?

That's too much for a school trip. It's really sad but I think you have to say no.

It's also ridiculously expensive for a trip to Borneo - I spent a month travelling around Singapore, Malaysia and Borneo earlier this year. It was the trip of a lifetime and my friends and I spent accordingly - private drivers, private guides and tours, 5 accommodation (when it was available - there's not many 5 hotels in rainforests), several internal flights and I had to pay a single room supplement everywhere. Even with all those luxuries it came to less than £6500.

Even in private schools there's usually only 10 across the year groups invited that actually go. It's not one that all her friends will be going on or anything. She won't be missing out in that respect.

If it's causing problems, you could suggest she does a gap year after college which gives her time to save. It'd be much cheaper too!

It is clearly driven by teachers who want to go! They would not have had the company in school otherwise! It’s not necessary and neither does it support the curriculum in any depth. How will fsm dc participate? It’s clearly a jolly!

Completely unreasonable of the school to even think of offering this trip!! Please do not feel guilty. There are very few parents who would be willing or able to pay that much. As a PP said, that would easily cover a luxury family holiday let alone one child.

I would be very surprised if anyone goes on the trip. The people who thought this was a great idea should be ashamed of themselves.

at 15 she is old enough to understand the financial situation and what you can and cannot afford (and maybe try to find a part time job).

you don’t have to offload your worries but you are doing her no favours by not explaining her how family finances work, what is affordable and what is not

Ok it’s obv a hard no to this trip but there will be other opportunities/ options that aren’t with school. Some Counties have ‘expedition groups’ that do this sort of thing, aimed at kids for summer post GCSEs. Does your County have one? They are not usually this much - look into it and ask her to come up with a concrete fund raising/work plan if it’s at the more affordable end!

Ah yes, the teachers that want to give up 4 weeks of their unpaid holiday to work for free. 🙄

My school ran a similar trip in the summer. It was only 2 weeks and overlapped the last week of term. They only had 1 female teacher volunteer and had to beg a male teacher to go so the trip could run. Literally beg.

Thats insane amount of money.

That's so expensive.

In our child's school, they usually send out a letter explaining they are thinking of doing a trip that will cost X amount and gage interest if parents would like the child to go. If there's no interest then they simply don't do it. If there is then they go ahead. Which I think is a better way of doing it.

There's never been a trip that expensive. The most expensive has been £1000 and to be honest I still wouldn't pay that.

Bit like Christmas really.

Kid wants stuff, apparently everybody else has got the stuff. Parent can't afford it,NO

Life goes on, kid learns lesson.

My secondary school done a trip to Borneo too, summer holidays after year 11. Barely anybody went although it did go ahead with a handful of people, a-lot of people didn't actually want to go because at 17 years old, you were able to start going on lads/girls holidays instead so everybody was saving to go to places of their choosing, partying, relaxing after exams ect instead of holiday guided by teachers/adults. I’d give this a wide berth and say lets see how much money you can save, and maybe a friends holiday is a better idea.

To the posts say that teachers will be going, they won’t. These are private profit making organisations, it is their own staff who go. School staff are not involved.

That's more than my entire savings! My DD s trip to the Somme has cost £450 all meals and activities included and there's a trip to our twin town for 250, heavily subsidise d for those choosing French GCSE

Totally unappropriate from the school. I dont get how someone can come up with such a screwed idea. Why should they invite a travel company to earn money on their pupils? Why should they even put such an idea into the childrens heads? Also from what I read on here these trips are not very beneficial to the local community their are visiting and which they are often ment to be helping.

It is clearly driven by teachers who want to go!

Do you think teachers like giving up their holiday to supervise children abroad?! Have you any idea how stressful that is?

This is more likely to be an external 'voluntourism' company with a project to fleece money out of middle class families.

But nice opportunity for a spot of teacher-bashing.

That's not true, a few of the teachers from our school go on the trip. They get one week out of school then the rest of the trip is in summer holidays. Although it's not a school trip as such as it's run by an external company.

This is sheer nonsense from the school! Agree fully with peeps on here saying you should contact Head and Governors and ask wtf are they thinking.

That's ridiculous. I went to borneo with my partner. alAlong with the phillipines and vali. The trip for both of us flying business class inc hotels etc didn't come to that ( 18 months ago)