Can't afford school trip

[Lillybeans85]

My son really wants to go on his year 6 residential but the cost is £600 for a Mon-Fri stay. This is a lot higher than I expected and we really can't afford it at the moment. He goes to a state school but everyone in his class is really well off & money seems no object to them. My husband works & we get a small top up of universal credit a month due to his income. However, we would not be eligible for free school meals or anything. I feel really awkward and embarrassed emailing the school to ask for help & don't even know if we would get it. Has anyone else been in the same situation?

I wouldn’t be paying this, I can take us all away in the summer holidays for 2 weeks for £600, and wouldn’t be missing that to pay for one person to go away. I would approach the school and say that you can’t afford to go, they may have a fund for these circumstances

£600 for an outdoor activity centre is about the going rate once you factor in accommodation, food and instruction.

Instructor are about £80 per person. This sounds like a lot but the work is seasonal and very insecure (many can't physically do it after fifty because of health / injury reasons), the equipment and training is expensive and the insurance is sky high. I know people who work in the industry - it's highly competitive which doesn't help. They pretty much get paid minimum wage after every else has been accounted for. It isn't a career you make mega bucks in. I know more than one who literally live in camper vans.

Even a week next year for scouting is coming in at £400 for one of their big camps for 6 nights - keep in mind it's staffed by volunteers.

It's really sad; £600 is a huge amount all the same and really I think the school needs to cap it at £300 which is still a lot and just do 2 or 3 nights for cost reasons.

Please do speak to the school. My friend recently had to do this at our school and they were very accommodating and understanding

That is high, our 4 night residential at an activity centre was £250, the 2 night city trip, where they ate out at restaurants for every meal was around £200.

Definitely ask for help, even if you're not on FSM they will likely have a fund.

£600 is a lot. This year our yr 5/6 are doing Fri-Mon at the isle of Wight PGL (which is quite a travel distance) for £325. I think 4 days is long enough for them to be away, particularly if it means it is significantly more affordable.

I agree actually that £600 is a big chunk of money. Yes maybe the answer is to do a shorter trip to keep the costs down.

Two weeks for the whole family for £600 is impressive tho. It costs me about £300 a fortnight just to feed mine (four adults) so accommodation, travel and activities for £150 a week is very good going. Unless you are camping and already have all the kit.

We used to take a year 17 group to France for five days – about a day and a half of which was spent travelling – and it cost about £400 the last time I did it, but that was seven years ago. That was as low as we could make it.

This does sound a lot. Speak to the school and see what they can suggest.
Our school did a 2 night residential, it was around 350. Year 6 leavers bullshit gets expensive and stupid. I really resented it all even though we could afford it. I felt it was all way over the top.

As a parent I would ask myself how essential to the educational experience of my child the trip was. If it was just a pleasure jaunt like a ski trip the answer would be no. But I would not want a child to miss out on a valuable experience to use their language skills or learn from another culture as I did.

When I was 14 (back in the 1950s) I was top of my class in French and there was a school trip to France. In those days very few people had the opportunity to travel abroad unless there were from a very wealthy background. Sadly told the headmaster (who taught us French) that my parents wouldnt be able to afford the cost. He reached out to my parents and offered them a bursary which would have covered most of the cost. He emphasized the value of the experience and that it would be something to put on my CV when I was seeking work. My father refused to sign the consent form because he saw it as "charity". He also said it would give me "unrealistic ideas above my class". So I just had to tough it out.

If it had simply been a question of finance I would have accepted that. It was the fact that my father had stood in the way of my having a valuable educational opportunity I could not forgive. I told him "One day I will travel the world and do it with my own money." As an adult that came to pass.

I never forgave my father.

@Friendlygingercat that's such a sad story, I am sorry that happened to you.

FWIW when I ran our French trip, if there were students who wanted to go who would struggle, we had funds to support. I still think now with enormous pleasure of all they got out of the trip and how much they enjoyed it.

The downside is that the poor teachers lose their weekend. If they’re lucky they’ll be given time off in lieu (costing the school more in supply costs or just putting some poor underpaid TA in front of the class - and the teachers will still have to plan and mark those two days of lessons…), more likely they just don’t have a weekend.

it’s a much cheaper way of doing it (for parents) but there’s hidden costs elsewhere.

Option1 go speak to the parent liason at school or head of year etc they will usually have a fund set aside for this and this is exactly what it is for, do not feel embarrassed. Maybe email them instead if it's better for you but please ask. Our school has this, it's not advertised but as soon as they see a kid isn't going the teacher reaches out and asks for a reason etc and if it's monetary then school steps in if they can

There's also alot of kids in yr6 who don't go. And in the past few years it's more. The school put on fun stuff for them to do and usually a local trip or two to make up for it and the kids who don't go equally love it. But you said your kid wants to go so please ask OP there is NO shame in asking.

They get given time in lieu so are very happy to go on the weekend

Including travel, food and 3 full days (plus probably 2 half days) of go ape type activities - probably 6-8 hours a day of supervised activities run by qualified professionals?

last two years I’ve been on week long caravan holidays in the UK and paid more than that for the caravan alone for 4 people.

£600, where are they going, All inclusive in Spain?

Thats really taking the piss for a year 6 trip. Dds was £120 and they let you pay in instalment's from 8 months in advance.

I wouldn’t /couldn’t have paid £600 for a year 6 trip.

Speak to the school as PP have said.

Personally I think these things should be accessible to everyone.

I also wouldn’t be sharing details of my finances with the school. And no way should it be a Christmas present!

No, campsite and fuel only, but we would only spend the same as we would at home on food, and we have kayaks, SUP’s, surfboards, bodyboards and other equipment. And that would be for 4 people. I couldn’t justify spending £600 on one person in the family as it would mean the rest of us would miss out on going away

So you are talking about campsite fees and petrol to get there (not even camping equipment, or food, or activities); it's a bit disingenuous to compare that with a trip including all food, accommodation in buildings, and as @modgepodge says, activities with trained instructors. I can see why, having all the kit, you might not be keen to send a child on the trip tho.

It’s a hell of a lot of money and unaffordable for many regardless.

Are there any grandparents willing/able to chip in?

Definitely approach the school. Our local Lions Club will contribute to our local
schools for this type of thing. I am sure it is really common and please don’t feel embarrassed. It is brave to ask for help when you need it.

School trips are not school trips anymore its a holiday and you pay more because half has to pay for the teachers.

My sisters daughter had a trip come up years back costing £1500 per child to go to france for 4 days.
Her daughter said she didnt want to go and to be fair a lot of kids didnt go either.
The trip was canceled by the school due to the lack of funds goes to show, the parents was not dishing out for the teachers.

A year later another trip day trip to the local museum £70 per child said museum was free to enter and with in walking range for the kids.

My sister went in and asked why was they charging parent to go to a free museum the very place my sister worked in so she knew it was free to enter.
The school sent out a letter that evening, stating that an auto correct mistake was made about the trip and the price was free however each child can bring £20 saying this was max for the spending money at the gift shop and 4 ice-
cream.
We do apologise for the mistake made bla bla bla.
Kids did go.

So true i dont have kids but id find it hard if i had to pay that for anything even as as single woman.

Please please speak to the school. They will be able to help

Ahh, that didn’t take too long, the moaning about paying for teachers to go!

Do you think teachers should have to pay to go to work then? As well as giving up their evenings (unpaid), possibly paying for additional childcare or animal care, they should also have to pay to supervise your children?

If you go on a work trip, do you pay for the privilege?

Are you a teacher?

1. i was just saying what i seen and been told.

2 .i dont have kids so i dont know the ins and outs of school life im just adding a comment.

If you fell offended i can ask MN to remove it as i dont want to up set anyone.