International School residential trips

[citychick]

Just wondering, for those of you who's kids are old enough to attend these trips, are they super expensive?
Do parents complain when they are so pricey? Does the school offer an alternative? Do they have a home based trip for those who are not able to travel or afford them?

When the trip information came out, it was expensive, yes.
Many mum's complained. The school pulled out all the stops and found an alternative at a much cheaper rate. This still wasn't good enough, apparently, so most of the class opted for the home based trip.

The home based trip isn't meant for the majority of the class. It's meant for the dozen or so kids who have genuine reasons for not being able to attend, eg medical issues, genuine hardship (the odd child who is sponsored) etc.

The school cannot arrange a home based trip for the majority of the class. The whole point of this trip is to go abroad.

DS qualifies for a home trip (not hardship).

Anyway, school got so fed up with mums complaining that they cancelled the local trip and have instead given the kids who remain half days of extra work and then home at lunchtime.

In short, the kids who go away have a cheaper trip, still get to go away and children like mine have suffered just because some of the mums have refused to pay, pretty much, for anything.

One mother in particular had a meeting with the headmaster, which clearly came to nothing. They called her bluff.

I called her out on her behaviour (politely) because she has ruined the week for many kids. Despite her meeting with the principal to ensure a great week for all.

What happens in your schools? Have any of you ever experienced a shambles like this?

thanks for reading.

[ArfArfBarf]

Why should parents be blackmailed into paying ridiculous amounts for expensive school visits. If more kids want to go on the local trip then why not just run the local trip as the main trip. The school cancelled the local trip to bully parents into paying more than they could afford?

I don’t really see how it’s the other woman’s fault?

The solution is really simple, let parents choose which trip they want their kids to go on, which I expect is exactly what the other mum suggested.

[citychick]

I know. It's not even somewhere interesting.

The one thing I have learnt over the years when dealing with schools, both in UK and HK, is that if I'm going to complain about something then I have to offer up what I think is a solution. Or even help to find a solution.

Not just, as DH out it, light a fire and walk away...which is what the complaining mum did...

[ShanghaiDiva]

six nights in Hainan for HKD 12000 - madness! I am not surprised parents were not happy. 8500 is not a lot better! I think there are better destinations than Hainan for a lot less money!
Agree with you that a total rethink on trips at the school is necessary.

[citychick]

arfarf

What the school did do was get the pricing very wrong.

First year 7 offering was 6 nights away in Hainan for HKD 12000
Parents kicked off and school found another supplier
Price reduced to 8500 HKD
And local trip cancelled to "encourage" more kids to go to Hainan.

Many did take the cheaper option and many continued to moan, but I do think that a total rethink of the trips is necessary.

I think the headmaster is trying to "keep up" with the better known schools. I really wish they wouldn't.

[citychick]

yakari
Yes it's really changed the class atmosphere. I don't know this mum very well, despite being western, but I am led to believe she has form for this kind of behaviour. Sigh...

[ArfArfBarf]

It sounds like a shambles of the schools own making. Why can’t the school offer a home-based trip for the whole class?

[Comeymemo]

No personal experience as my kids are still in primary, but the secondary school trips at our school (Harrow) are pretty eye watering - but as far as I know, most of them are optional eg ski break during half term.

My friends with kids at Kellett were not impressed with the mandatory, £1000 “charity” trip to Thailand in year 7.

[ShanghaiDiva]

City chick
we are on the mainland so we have no local kids as under PRC rules they can only attend an international school if they have a foreign passport. Consequently most children have experienced a lot of overseas travel. I can see how the situation in HK would be different with local children attending the school.
The overseas trips with my ds's school were expensive (imo) - rmb 8K and up for 6 days and very often went to places we, as a family, had already visited. I much prefer trips where children do things that I am not going to do - hiking and camping on the Great Wall, for example.
I can see how you are frustrated with the parent who made such a fuss to the school and now you are left with nothing!

[yakari]

Funnily enough I was going to chime in with my own HK story... different set of circumstances but same ending ... with one parent going in, kicking up a fuss and changing the plans which cause the school to flail about trying to keep everyone happy and in the end practically no one was!
Like you my anger was more at the parent who decided she knew best - ie what suited her and her child best - and bugger everyone else. It's left a really bitter taste for many of the parents and changed the dynamic of what had been a fairly close knit year group.
I save a degree of the anger for the real school management who handled it so badly!

Can't the school offer anything else instead of extra work and time off - there's a host of companies here that run 'camps' - you'd think they'd come up with something.

[citychick]

Thanks for the replies.
DS is in year 7 so secondary.
Interesting to hear about the trends and cultural differences.
We're in HK and some of these trips get quite fancy.
shanghaidiva
schools here encourage foreign travel. Local trip for those with medical and other issues. Not enough spaces for the huge number that decided against the away trip.
Primary trips are all local - HK outlying islands.

I do agree that most kids get the same experiences from a local trip. Especially as the majority of international kids here travel quite frequently. Many Hongkongers send their kids to local international schools and they might not travel in the way the expats tend to.

I suppose my real irritation stems from the fact that one mum made such a song and dance about the cost and activities, met with the principal and promised all the parents a great week for those who stay home. In reality the school cancelled the local trip and offered nothing.
This parent has given no apology but has, in fact, managed to palm off the blame onto other parents because we didn't arrange a week of fun for our own kids.

There is a culture in HK of fabulous school trips, but perhaps that is shifting now.

[DunesOfSand]

There are no compulsory trips to places more than about 10 miles away (tho we are still in primary).
So, optional enrichment trips are planned, and offered to a suitable age range (we've had years 4-8, 5&6, and I know secondary do trips to more exotic places). These are optional, often expensive and first come first served. All the primary trips I can think of are within 60-90mins flying.
Class trips are in the order of less than £5, and to fun places. So far, we havn't gone anywhere educational as a class trip. So, think trampoline park, rather than the seaside to fit with the coastal topic.

[habibihabibi]

Last year 75% of my child's year opted for the school based experience rather than the trip abroad.

[ShanghaiDiva]

At the school my daughter attends the trip cost is included in the school fees. They do not go overseas. It is expected that all kids will attend. At my son's school the cost was extra, they did go overseas and those who did not attend stayed at school - (there was no local trip option).
Personally, I think the benefits kids get from the trip - teamwork, being away from home, new challenges - can be met on a local level and nobody 'needs' to go overseas. I would not be impressed if my dd's school acted in the manner you describe above. Why cancel the local trip? Seems rather petty.

[habibihabibi]

Are you in the ME ?
The international school demographics here are shifting and the trip organisers are having to rethink.
The local families and more conservative expats aren't particularly up for trips to developing countries or keen ro send daughters on mixed excursions. The previously minted oil and gas kids are a much reducing breed as companies prefer to bring in single employers.
We have personally reduced our own travel as the flights are increasingly expensive so can't justify paying a huge amount for one kid when the whole family could get a holiday instead.