How much to give 15 year old going to London on a school trip

[SenMum91]

My son is going to London for 2 nights and 3 days.

All food, hotel, travel etc is covered including these activities Hamilton musical natural history museum science museum London eye Hyde Park and shopping at Oxford/regent street.

How much money would you give for spends considering they are also going to oxford/regent Street? Hes asked for £200 and I personally think that's a bit overkill!

I can’t get past the fact they are taking a bunch of SEN kids to Oxford street. That better be at 10am when the shops open and the tourists are not yet awake, it’s madness. So many great things to do in London, but I’d skip Oxford street.

I wouldn’t send more than £100-150 for treats and drinks.

What will he need to buy? What is the full itinerary? Will visiting some shops be involved? What does the school suggest? What are other parents saying?
I'd say £200 is easily about right.

What has school suggested? The big sports brands all have stores on Oxford Street, also Lego store is opposite M&M. At theatre an ice-cream and programme can easily be £10-20 and lots of tempting merch there and at the museums.

£200 for the three days, may seem on the high side, but can easily be spent, though bear in mind the places he's visiting, and the cost of snacks and drinks throughout the day, and the odd souvenir.

There might be some gadget/toy/book/game that he'd like to buy at the museums (which won't be cheap!), ice creams/drinks won't be cheap from one of the kiosks in Hyde Park, snack/drink/programme at the musical, as well as whatever he wants to buy at Oxford/Regent Street.

There's other little emergencies which may be considered, he may also forget, and therefore need to buy toiletries/other personal items, the charger on his phone may break, can spill something on his top/trousers, and need to buy a new one, etc.

£100-£150 is reasonable, plus another £50 for those little emergencies which could arise.

Remember alot of places are now cashless so best have a bank card!

I’d send £200 .. I wouldn’t want them to have to think about money, just buy whatever they fancy.

Our school usually suggests around £50 for a 3 night trip to a European city (similar to London prices). That’s £50 for the entire trip (not per day). If all food etc is included, any extra money is literally for treats. Mine usually have access to more, as they take a card, but have never spent more than the suggested amount.

£50 a day with meals and entry included was what our school set as maximum. DD had her card with her and more could be added in an emergency.

You can spend ££ in the M&M shop before you have blinked, Lego shop is opposite too.

As others have said theatre ice cream/drink/snacks soon add up and a programme is around £15, DD was £30 for a T-shirt.

Snacks out like chocolate covered strawberries or the fish shaped ice cream that DD had to have were £7-10 each.

£150. Snacks/drinks are pretty much the same all over at Tesco Express type places but, as others say, an ice cream at the theatre interval plus programme will be £15-20. Worth watching or listening to the songs beforehand so he understands the plot of Hamilton.
He probably wants the extra for the Nike store.

This £150 sounds right to me but remind him to get drinks and snacks from Tesco not from the rip off places. Also tell him not to do pick and mix at the M&M store or it will be all gone at once

how many teachers are going per pupil? I’ll also say it’s a strange choice for SEN pupils with all the noise and people. I remember going end of high school on trip and it was chaos and ended up with a teacher being suspended, that could have just been us though

And the Nike store is not for purchases on a school trip

I’d give £50 per day.

Nothing, they have a debit card and can choose what they spend.

But nobody needs to buy a programmes or an ice cream at theatre prices.
I go to the theatre a few times a year and usually take a pack or sweets that I've bought previously in the supermarket.

If you give most dc £200, then yes, I'm sure they'll find things to spend it on, but if they don't have it, they can't spend it.

I know the demograph of MN is skewed towards the wealthy, but the idea of teen dc "expecting" these huge amounts of money just for frivolous spending, when parents have already shelled out for the trip is just wild to me. Way outside what is normal.

Am I the only one aghast at these sums, I’d be sending £20. Everything is covered

Exactly @bababamama

The first answer similar to mine

seems crazy a teen wants £200 for a few days

I'd send a maximum of £30 a day. That's PLENTY for snacks and drinks. London is expensive, but not so expensive that you can't get a few cans of pop and some crisps for under £10. You can also send him with a tube of pringles and some sweets if really necessary.

I'd let him fund souvenirs and programmes etc. from his pocket money.

If there was something specific that he wanted e.g. Hamilton merch I would give an advance on Birthday/Christmas/pocket money.

It's good for children to learn to budget!

I would say £100 and I live in London area…