What age did you or your child go on their first residential and how long was it?

[BippityBopper]

Just off the back of another thread.

DS' school offered a residential for Y4 for a week. It was at an outdoor activity centre 30 miles away, so close enough to pick up if things went awry.

We didn't send DS because we thought he was too young and the information that the school provided was scarce. They had offered an inormation evening but my understanding was that this was for more detailed logistics as it took place after the deadline to sign up.

My first residential was in Y7 (to Spain). DS school has also offered one for Y6, 1.5bours away
, which he will be joining.

I saw on the other thread some primary schools do residentials to other countries! It made me start to think I'm being way too precious with DS. Other parents at the school merrily signed their kids up with the two paragraphs of info we initially received.

I'm just wondering what general thoughts are on a minimum age for a residential?

I was 10 with school but probably about 8 with church club and Brownies.

DD was 14 - to Ypres for a couple of nights. They didn't do residentials at her primary and her Brownies group wasn't up to much tbh. The Year 7 one was camping which she point blank refused to engage with 😂

My daughter has just come back from her first school residential. She is 7 and in year 3. It was 1 night and had a great time. She will be going again in year 5/6 and it will be 4 nights away.

Y3 for 2 nights, about 30-40 mins from home. Primary school had a residential every year in ks2- always in England but much closer to home since Covid.

Y7 there was a local overnight trip for youngest DC but didn’t run for older DC.

Think I went to the IOW in Y5- I think every school in the 80/90s in the south did a trip to the IOW!

DD’s school do a 2/3 night residential in Yr4. She’s still a way off but it hadn’t occurred to me to pull her out when it rolls round.

Our school offer a residential per year starting in y3. Year 3 is 1 night at a local cub camp, y4 is also night, y5 2 nights at local PGL and then y6 do a 2 nighter in London and also a 2 nighter surfing to get some variety.

They used to run the longer trips but lots of people didn't want their kids to go

2 nights/ 3 days in Y5 and again in Y6. Some students did not go - they really missed out on social bonding, activities and independence.
School used to do the Y6 trip to France pre-Covid, but now it is just in the UK

Mine did 2 nights with brownies at just turned 7.

@BippityBopper based on many posts, do you think you made the right decision or were too cautious

Mine did Beaver sleepovers from 6, then weekend camps and week long summer camps with Cubs and Scouts. They did a year 6 residential with school, no worries by then as they'd been away so much.

Year 2 - 36 hour sleepover at school (one night, two school days)
Year 4 - 2 nights / 2 days camping locally
Year 6 - 4 nights at PGL, a couple of hours away.

DD was 8yo (Y3 summer term) when she went to PGL on her own. It was the nearest camp to us, just in case, and for 3 days/2 nights.

The next year she went to Brownie camp for a weekend and the full week at a further away PGL.

By the time she went on her Y6 residential with school she was an old hand and found it odd that a lot of her classmates were crying.

My eldest, many years before, went on a plane on her own to Europe at 8yo!

Neither of mine have been on school residentials, they're not a thing here, but my oldest is supposed to be going on a German exchange trip next year, if the school gets the funding for it (not allowed to charge parents)
Both have been on scout camps though, 7 years old for their first camp and DD went on her first big camp (about 5000 scouts) at 8 years old and DS will be doing the same this summer

My children both started residential trips in year 3, they were at least 70 miles away, my eldest went on one 250 miles away in year 5. They both really enjoyed them but the uptake was low in year 3. I do think it depends on the child. Have they slept out, how are they away from home, do they sleep well at night etc. you usually get loads of information before you go and I've looked up all of the places online. My eldest has a complex medical condition and I was nervous about him going but he was fine :)

brownies
quite young, 8 or so
and then year 6
also scouts but i think that is also year 6 or even 5

My boys both had their first in year 6 after their SATS. Oldest couldn’t wait, youngest was very nervous but went and loved it. Oldest has been on another few, youngest will never go again. At a younger age oldest would have been fine, youngest would have had me collecting him in the middle of the first night!! I think you know your child well enough to know if they will be ok.

I don't regret my decision as I don't feel it's harmed his development in any way. He's very confident and shows good independence. Whilst these opportunities are great, I really dont feel anyone's at a huge disadvantage if they don't go. Plenty of other children didn't go either so I don't think he felt he missed out. I made a decision with the information/lack of information I had at the time. And he will be going on his Y6 residential (as always intended).

I am reconsidering whether DS2 will go in Y4 though. But, as a I said, I really don't feel like I'd be doing him a huge disservice if he never went. I didn't go on my first residential until I was in senior school and I turned out just fine (I think!)

I think your point about lots of other children not going is important as you need to consider what the alternative is for those who don't go.
At my DC's small village school the whole of KS2 went on residential together. Very few children didn't go - I can only remember one in all the time my DC were there - and not going meant a week stuck in KS1 as all the KS2 staff were away too. I wouldn't have sent any of my DC on a trip that they really didn't want to go on or that I thought that was dangerous of course, but the fact that all the rest of their cohort would be away together doing the same thing did influence things, both because it reassured me that this was the norm, and because being left at school would no doubt feel very isolating.
Obviously that's a very different kettle of fish to a situation when there's a reasonable cohort staying behind or, like most secondary school trips, only a small minority of the year group is away. I remember my DD begging me to let her go on a ridiculously expensive ski trip in year 7 even though she had no particular interest in skiing. But allegedly "everyone" was going and she was envisaging being left behind in an empty classroom. In reality 2 kids out of her form of 28 went, neither of whom were her close friends and she was quite relieved I'd said no!

Me - Yorkshire for around 5 days in the last term of what is now Year 5, then third year juniors, so I guess I was 9 or 10. Then Belgium for 5 or 6 days in what is now Year 6, fourth year juniors, I would have been 10 or 11, depending what month we went in. I also went to Guide camp a few times but can't remember whether that would have been before or after Yorkshire.

My kids - They had a 3 or 4 day trip to some outward bound centre in the next county at the beginning of Year 6. But the younger one didn't get to do it because of Covid. But before that they had plenty of one or two night Cub camps, maybe also Beavers, I can't remember if the camps started in Beavers or Cubs. There were also a few one night sleepovers arranged by school and Beavers/Cubs in museums and churches and castles.

I did it at around 9 or 10 and still vividly remember how much I hated it. I was so homesick even though I’d gone for loads of sleepovers etc. Travelled extensively on my own from 18 though so definitely grew out of it!

My lot were year 6 when they had their residential. 2 went about a hour away, the other went to France. ( different school) I think I was similar age in the 70s, we went to Devon. I can still remember the 'bunkhouse' hostel where we stayed. It was the first time I had sweetcorn! 😂

Just remembered I did go on a couple of Brownie residentials. One was a week long. Can't remember the exact age but whatever the top age for Brownies was in the 70s

In our scout group the beavers (age 5/6) go on camp for two nights without parents and the squirrels (preschool) come for one night with a parent.
School do a Year 4 (age 8/9) residential for two nights.

Year 4 with school, so I will have been 8? We went to a Scout-camp type place. I went to a few Brownie ones before the end of primary school as well.

Oldest DDs first residential trip was an overnighter in Year 3, what seems super young but she loved it.