SCHOOL TRIPS - PASSPORT?

[Northernlurker]

dd1 has a letter about a school trip to Germany. The letter is with her and she is at a mates tonight so I can't see it for ages and I'm a bit excited for her and just want to get everything straight in my head. The cost of the trip is ok - we have some savings for this sort of thing for them but I think we'll need to get her a passport as well. I've looked on line and that's a slightly wince inducing £49. Also if ok if needed but when I was going on school holidays last millenium there was a group passport thing that they used. I seem to remember something about them not existing anymore - is that right? Will she have to have her own?

She'll need her own and she'll need an EHIC card (replaced E111)

She will need her own.

Thanks, ok might as well do that even if she doesn't get on this trip (only 41 places and lots of keen kids) Thanks for mentioning the EHIC card too - I remember the E111 too! This secondary school lark is starting to make me feel v old!!

We have been told at the start of senior school that they need to have a valid passport.

It takes about 3 weeks to get a British passport without having to worry about paying extra for expedited processing. In our experience, the passport has been issued within 2 weeks, even at peak time. If the school is organising an overseas trips, there are several months of lead time.

School may apply for a collective passport (we do for some trips but not all) so you would need to check with them.

I did this for one of my DCs earlier this year and it is expensive. Be very careful with the EHIC card - these are free - don't be taken in by websites which try to charge for one (these come up at the top of google searches). I was nearly caught out as I didn't know anything about the EHIC and the websites look very convincing.

Schools can still get collective passports. It is a lot of work for them to arrange this - I know I used to do organise them for our European trips. So check with school before you fork out for a passport.

The Post Office Check and Send service is brilliant. Turns the passports round in a matter of days normally.

Unless you are unable to fill in forms you won't need the Post Office service, comes back in days anyway.

The easiest way to apply for a passport is to fill the form in online. They then send you a completed for in the post the next day for you to sign, and get countersigned.

You can either post it yourself, or use Check and Send with this service, but you would only need to use Check and Send if you were in a rush.

DD1 recently did a school trip with a collective passport. We were happy as it meant that DD didnt need to take (and risk losing) her own passport.

dd1 needed her own passport for a school trip in teh summer

Check the letter first. DS is going to France and the school are doing a collective passport for those that don't have one. She will need a European Health Insurance card. (These are free. Don't be misled by some websites who try and charge!)

Good idea to use the Post Office check and send, As they check that the passport photo is correct. They have to be just right now a days, No smiling and no hair in your face. We have had a form sent back before becuase the photo wasn't quite right,

I also found the on-line passport application process helpful. Our local Post Office will take passport photos anyway, withouth the check and send service, so they ensured photos were ok.

I personally don't think its worth spending extra on the check and save, unless you have problems with forms.

Group passport stuff here - they do still exist:

www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/Aboutcollectivegrouppassports/DG_174361