School Trip to Spain

[Grizzy]

So 14 year old on school trip to Barcelona. The school says DD lost her passport after passing through Passport Control in Barcelona. They say she left it in a toilet and security wouldn't let them go back for it. The school have subsequently been unable to recover the passport from the airport. She returns on Thursday. It's a week until the summer holidays. I'm in pieces. How am I going to get a new passport? Why isn't the school liable for the cost and inconvenience? Anyone had the same? The school should have been responsible for the passports at all times. She is 14! A minor and NOT a responsible adult. I'm so angry.

Yeh it’s all fine saying the school has passports - so did we with 11-12yos - but they still have to go through wuth their own passport. Teachers can collect them afterwards but it sounds as tho your dd managed to leave it in a loo in the meantime.

Yes we know she is not an adult, but surely she can keep hold of something important for 15 mins? Bet you don’t have hold of her phone as a regular thing! No I don’t have a 14yo but I did, and I expected them to hang on to important stuff if need be.

Wailing “but she’s not an adult” is so infantilising and not helpful to your dd. I’m sure she does take on responsibility in general - if not, she should.

No, you are getting a real and honest reaction.

If your 14 year old can't look after a passport, give your head a wobble and make your 14 year old responsible. A teacher, or group of teachers, responsible for at least 8 kids per head is insanity; maybe sign up and be a teacher to see what it's like.

I wouldn't be happy with a bunch of teenagers having their passports on them for the whole trip. Well to be honest I tend to look after my familiy's passports when we are on holiday and we are all adults! But we don't know that that was the situation. Obviously individuals need to be in possession of their own passport when they go through passport control. I would imagine the most likely scenario here is that the teacher handed them out on the plane before landing and intended to collect them again in luggage reclaim or on the bus but the OP's DD went to the toilet in this gap and lost her passport then. You could, I suppose, say that there should have been a member of staff waiting to collect the passports immediately after passport control but I presume they would have been using multiple gates so that is probably easier said than done. And these are teenagers, not primary school pupils. It's unlikely to be the first time most have been through an airport, they presumably manage to look after other valuables like their phones and many will use public transport or at least school buses independently by that age - they're not babies who need constant supervision.
I don't think it is unreasonable to expect someone in their mid teens to be able to look after their own passport in an airport and had one of mine lost their passport in such circumstances I would have been holding them largely responsible for the matter. It will presumably cause significant disruption to the trip as the staff will now have to sort out emergency travel documents. I probably wouldn't say a lot to my DC whilst they were actually away as they're probably pretty upset about it all but we would be having a serious talk once they got home and I would expect them to apologise to their teachers.

I'm sure school did treasure they would be taking care of things, in a guide young people, do their best and generally manage a lot of moving parts in a responsible adult way...
But liable if a mishap occurs seems a bit strong.
I'm sure it's really inconvenient and a cost attached etc but that's just life and I don't think anyone can guarantee your child will be immune from such errors on a trip like that.

The purpose of these trips is to experience and learn, that includes learning a bit of independence.

The only way to avoid this for sure would be for the teacher to stand at the passport desk hand each child their passport as they got there and take it back of them the insurance they were waved through... Which would be a bit ridiculous really.

As annoying as it is, I bet your DD will ever be anything less than very careful with a passport ever again... Win! She's had a life lesson.

That’s what they did on our French history trip. Handed them out just before passport control. First teacher went through then as you went through you waited with her and handed passport back in. I didn’t have a passport back in the day so lots of us were on some sort of group passport that was just a bit of green card with your photo stuck on.

@Sosorryliver haha, ok then. Seemed a bit ott, but that's what they did. Fair play

Maybe focus on making sure it's a lesson learned for your daughter. There's no point being angry at the school and if you have this opinion in front of her then she will never take responsibility for anything. Apply for an emergency passport, i think the turnaround is pretty quick.

Bigger picture - it sounds like your DD is going on 2 holidays in a short space of time so it can't be all bad. I'd never been abroad at 14. Might be an idea to up the responsibility levels.

@Edenmum2 that about sums it up alright. 👌

sorry this happened. it's a pain to lose something as valuable as this.

all my teens have been on school trips this year and always kept hold of their own passports.
school presentation highlighted this and recommended a bumbag for each pupil for the passport and essential medication.

I'm not surprised you are upset. But these things happen and there's nothing you can do about it. She's not the first to lose a passport and won't be the last.

My kids are away with the scouts just now and it's certainly something I worried about my eldest doing. They can be muppets at that age.

Have school told you what they are doing about getting her documents to get home?

You should report her passport lost and get on with applying for a replacement asap. The current turnaround time
Is pretty quick.

Ask school if they will be claiming for the costs on their insurance? If not do you have cover you can claim on?

But do stop blaming the school.

Making her pay for the replacement might focus her mind.

I have had a (now grown up) 14 year old. Somehow she and the rest of her friends have managed to keep track of their passports on all school trips abroad - even at age 11!

The kids need to take their passports through the airport themselves before handing them back - teachers can’t go through immigration for them for goodness sake.

You are being ridiculous and infantilising your daughter. She should know far better than to be so irresponsible with an important document.

I've taken multiple schools trips and had two 14 year olds of my own. At some point kids will have to have their own passport. Absolutely not the school's fault if she left it in the bathroom. Not harsh, just reality. I'd also be annoyed, but with my kid and not the teachers.

I just asked my sons for their experiences and opinions as it's only a few years since they were that age so they might have a different view to parents. They said pretty much what I expected though. When they went on school trips abroad their passports were held by a teacher apart from a fairly short period when they were negotiating passport control, and that they were reminded repeatedly by the staff to look after their passports and to return them. Their opinion is that teachers could probably have prevented the passport loss by collecting them back in literally as soon as the pupils exited passport control but that they shouldn't really have to as looking after a passport for a relatively short period of time should be well within the capabilities of an average 14 year old. My DS2 reminded me that he was responsible for his own EpiPens from year 7 onwards (obviously school had spares but he had first line responsibility) and that pretty much every 14 year old looks after their own phone, laptop, bus pass etc. Both my DSs said that had this happened on one of their school trips they think the vast majority of the kids would have seen it as the pupil's fault rather than the teachers'.
It would be prudent for the school to review their procedures of course. I doubt they need to be told that though as the extra work generated is probably quite a PITA for them. But assuming that all the other pupils managed to keep hold of their passports and that it's not been a recurring issue on other trips then it seems unlikely that they're particularly lax about security.

I have a 13 yr old so similar, unfortunately this is just 'one of those things.' DD should have been more careful and it's ultimately her fault. I'm sure school did remind/probably planned to take them back in, but it is what it is and there's no point being annoyed. I'm sure that nobody wanted this to happen and now the teachers are also stressed/have the inconvenience of trying to sort it out.

So put your annoyance to one side, it's not helping anybody. What practical steps are being taken to resolve the situation?

My sister, age 19, out her backpack down in South America for a short moment, turned around and it was gone. With passport and money. Too cool to wear a money belt. Travelling alone with a friend.

They managed to sort it out but I've no doubt it was quite scary.

At least your daughter is in Spain with adults and it can be rectified.

As others say, it's a life lesson and hopefully she'll take more care in future.

I think a 14 year old is fully capable of looking after their own passport - after all they manage to look after their own phones despite being "minors".

It sounds as though they were still near passport control and your dd was just careless.

At 14 my DD2 was flying alone internationally with DD1 (16 ASD/ADHD)

It’s very telling that her phone came out of the bathroom with her yet not the passport in my opinion..

It is completely appropriate for her to be responsible for her own passport. Her not having it herself could trigger human trafficking concerns!

The school probably meant they may collect and place in safe of accommodation.

Mine would have been responsible enough to manage a passport for a few hours.

She made a mistake it is not the schools fault.

If she is that irresponsible then she shouldn't be going away without her parents.