Taking children to residential venue to save on the cost of a coach?

[Younopoo]

My son has started junior school so I am not sure if this is the norm. They have been invited on an overnight stay costing £70. Parents have been asked to drop the children off at the centre which is half hour away (in good traffic) at 10.00 and collect them the next day at 1.30.

I know there are plenty of ways round this and that I don't have to send him but it seems that they are making a few assumptions. What if you don't have access to a car? Before my dh had a walk to work job, I didn't have use of the car in the day. If you have another child at the school or the infant school, you might have time to drop them off and then try and use a bus but it would probably take an hour or so due to routes.

The second thing I think is assumed is that parents don't work or can take time off for something like this and the timing means a big chunk of the morning gone. I wouldn't get to work until 10.45. I am not sure if you can leave them earlier than 10.00 yet. The 1.30 pick up is early too if you are working. I'm not sure if I can get time off to transport my son. Tbh not looking forward to asking.

I am trying to think of some of the parents I know who might actually be able to do this.

Am I over thinking or is this a bit of a faff? I don't know how much the cost of a coach for 90 children is but I know a local bus company do double deckers with seat belts for hire.

They are clearly making far too many assumptions in thinking that everyone is available during the day and has access to a car.

I din't have access to a car during the day as dh drives to work so asked a friend to drop him off to his residential. If I didn't have that option then I'd use a taxi or ask a teacher who lives locally whether they could pick him up on the way.
The latter seems cheeky but my kids go to a small school and teachers often drive kids to after school school sports events.

This does seem a bit off. We have never been asked to drop them off anywhere else than school (apart from for out-of-school sports stuff).

I guess they thought £70 was a lot to ask for and don't want to bump it up any more. But it does seem strange. isn't school supposed to be responsible from 9:00 to 3.30?

Not a small school. It is in a small city and the venue is across the city and slightly in the country side.

I think it will end up with parents who can filling cars. Loss of pay and cost of petrol/ taxis, I am wondering how much a coach would add. I wish they had put how much more it would have been on the letter.

The cost of a coach these days is seriously expensive - think at least £300 for the day and you would need two days. At junior age, most parents know each other and I would expect each parent that can drive to take a carful. It's often the only way the school can make such trips affordable.

Btw, some teachers won't take chdn in their car, they aren't being arsey, you need business insurance to do so.

Sorry, x post. Ask them how much a coach would have been, but remember, not all the children in the class will be contributing to the cost ( if it is a state school).

Our coach is costing £900 for a day trip. We're only going about 5 miles (London...)

We had to bring DD back from her residential, but we all knew in plenty of time that that was a requirement and we were invited to join the kids for a picnic before bringing them home. The school asked if anyone had spaces in their car for the journey to and from the venue and any offered spaces were allocated to those that didn't have transport.