expensive school trips - worth it?

[gramercy]

Ds has just bought home a school trip form. It's a history trip and the cost is ... £980 for 5 days!!!!!

On this occasion the answer is no. But some of his friends are going and ds looked a bit crestfallen. (Although it says if you are on a low income you may qualify to go.. grrrrr... but that's another thread.)

Anyway, I have said that if any more expensive (but less expensive than £980!) GCSE trips come up, I will not dismiss them out of hand.

So, what trips have you considered worthwhile and are they that beneficial?

Where was the trip too? That seems so £££ I know we couldn't afford that.

DD has a school trip to WW1 and 2 battlefields in France . I think the cost was around £250 Thurs 1am to Saturday evening.

She hated it she said the food was awful and the fact they had to go to about 4 sites on the thursday even though they had been on and off awake since 1 am meant she really didn't feel engaged.

Next time I will request a schedule before agreeing as they didn't give these out before requesting money.

Actually I think it was more like £300

Ds went on a WW1 battlefields trip last year and loved it. He said the guide was brilliant. That trip was about £90 I think and worth every penny as ds was very enthusiastic about it.

DS1 went on a trip to Auschwitz and Berlin recently. It was around £650 from Friday 3 a.m to Tuesday evening. It tied in with his GCSE History work.

Originally we said no because it seemed a vast sum for a few days but he was very keen to go so we reconsidered.

He had a whale of a time. They managed to get a booking to see round the Reichstag (I think it was there anyway!) and had a talk from an Auschwitz survivor, amongst other things. They also had some 'free time' away from teachers for some part of most days, which was good for them (having to find and order own lunch etc). Some of the things they did, they wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to do again.

All in all, worth the money.

This time.

Our local high school recently ran a trip to China. 10 days. £1600. A lot of money. I was [shocked] at such an ambitious trip. However, I was very impressed by the jam packed itinerary visiting 3 big cities and their own tour guide with them the whole time. Clearly a trip of a lifetime. This is not the kind of holiday we could afford for the family to go on, but I would definitely be up for paying for each of my children to go.... it opens up an opportunity we would not be able to give them otherwise.

Where is the trip? So far school trips for us have been about £330 - 4 nights in Germany or France - so £980 seems rather a lot!

Trip to Washington DC.

I agree with Ja9 that some trips we could not do as a family as would be way too expensive but would be affordable for one. But otoh I can't drop a grand here and a grand there without being certain that the trip is worthwhile.

Aah - I do know there is a GCSE Washington history trip at my son's school. I had better start saving as he's chosen history and he's in year 10 next year! I'm not sure how much that would benefit them. I understand the emotional impact that the WWI battlefields or Auschwitz would have, but a trip to Washington sounds like more of an excuse for a big jolly.

Having said that we would probably try and scrape the money together.

I'm convinced DD's school is on commission for Trailfinders!

The trips this year alone have come to £1700!!!! She is year 8.

Lord knows what the GCSE trips will cost.

I should say that she has hugely enjoyed them all and got a lot from them, though not necessarily of subject value IYSWIM.

DS1 is off to Germany Monday-Friday. £395. I thought that was quite good, it includes a packed itinerary.

He is keen to try out his German, he has only been learning it since September.

Sadly at secondary school they don't seem to have a need for "mummy helpers" on trips!! [Eyes RE trip to Istanbul covetously...]

Waves to Sparkling - my son is going on a similar German trip, I can imagine he will speak no German

Atm we are struggling to afford a trip we agreed to last year for DS1. £1680!

But it's too the Space Camp in Alabama and will be fantastic! We justified it to ourselves on the basis that DS was interested in aero-engineering. Sadly since then he seems to have lost interest and wants to be a musician But it will still be an amazing trip and we've paid a deposit so we're going ahead.

Since that time life seems to have become outrageously more expensive and it won't be happening again! Have already come to an arrangment with DD that she won't be going on the same trip 2 years later (she wasn't all that interested TBH) but will be going to Disneyland with a friend this summer (she is only paying for her entrance ticket) and a riding holiday with a mate in August. Both of which are costing about a 3rd of DS's trip.

DS2 won't be at that stage for another 4 years so will have to review nearer the times

DD2 is going to Barcelona this year -£650 for 4 nights. It's expensive but it includes all meals and sightseeing. She is looking forward to it and I'm sure it will help her Spanish.
DD1 went skiing - about £850 I think. I have been skiing before but have no intention of ever going again so worth paying for DD to go in my opinion. If DD wants to go next year then finances permitting at the time, then she can .
I did say no to Borneo at around £4000!

I might add that DD will be doing at least 3 school 'trips' during her time at the school - enrichment week at the end of yrs 7,8 and 9 while yr 10s are on work placements. And probably at least one MFL trip and geog is she is doing that for GCSE.

"Clearly a trip of a lifetime. This is not the kind of holiday we could afford for the family to go on"

I totally agree ja9. We would never all be able to do this so I am delighted that DS can.

DS 2 came home yesterday with details of a world challenge trip to morocco for 14 days cost £900 it's next July. Thought it wasn't a bad price considering all that they will be doing. My only thing is 2 weeks away he will be 13 (yr8) is a long time or am I being a wimp?

I am agog at some of the prices of some of these school trips

DD1's secondary had a trip to Australia a few years ago; luckily that was before she started. I'm dreading anything like that recurring...

I am taking her on our own 'school trip' to practice her German in Berlin for 4 days - 100 Euros each for the return fligths, and staying in a friend's apartment, so we're getting off lightly.. and I get to come with her

oohermrs I would baulk at DD1 being away with school for 2 weeks, and I'm not all that precious.. I remember what 'supervision' was like on my (far less exotic) school trips

I'm absolutely astounded at the price of some of these! The pr

I confess that I'm a sucker for trips. Any old trip. I will see all sorts of reasons why said trip is essential.

Two friends of DCs who have turned out pretty well so far - unchecked strings of A*s, Oxbridge, quietly and sensitively cool, the sort you'd happily bring home to meet your mother - have somehow got through their school lives all but not going on trips, including a raft of "GCSE" trips. Over the years we first thought it a little strange, then amusing, then unnoteworthy.

Which of course goes to prove to me that if mine didn't go, they wouldn't be able to keep up with these stars. Apart from which I'm all for the path of least resistance, unlike some. Deffo.

Sorry, posted too soon. The problem we have is that I could afford for one to go, but not all of them (big family).

Having said that, they have all (or will go on) the language exchange trip, I think that is really worthwhile. £350 each. They also went on pilgrimage to Rome which was ridiculously priced- £670 for 4 days!- but FIL wanted to pay for that.

I resent the prices of these, it's jsut absurd. I'd rather do as Alfalfamum - take them myself and we can all for the price the schools charge.

dd's school wanted I think £300 for two nights in Paris. We all went for a week last summer for around £500!

It's a lot of money, but Washington DC could be very interesting - what have they got planned? A friend's DS recently went on a trip to China and he absolutely loved it, sounds like it was definitely worth the money.

So far DD has not been interested in the really expensive trips at her school, thank God - our whole family goes skiing for the same cost as the school one! And some of the trips don't sound that well thought-out for the money....

So I'd find out exactly what is planned before parting with any money

Poor Boppard.

Poor Boppard