The 2015-16 school trip thread - how much, how long, how long to pay

[BrendaandEddie]

Ok - after whingeing that my kids' school never gives you long and has exorbitant prices...

Lets log the trip, the duration and the payment terms here..

Ready?

Y12, going to Poland, 1st week in January, 6 days, ??705. ??200 non-refundable deposit, and in the school's words "a minimum of 50% of the total costs must be paid by Sunday 1 November 2015 (??352.50) and the full balance of ??705 must be paid by Tuesday 1 December 2015".

To be fair though, anyone who has had children go through the lower school knows that this trip goes every year just as they know that there is a 3 week trip at the end of Y9.

First week in January .

Brr.

Ok. Paris. Year 12. Suspiciously expensive at 450 for 3 nights in a hostel.

Deposit due in 2 weeks of ??200 (before a pay day)

Not sure why the trip is in January but I guess that's the easiest time so as not to clash with AS mocks and other events.

Y11 History trip to Berlin, going next March, 4 days ??550. Deposit of ??150 had to be paid by end of June - although would have been refunded if insufficient take up. Glad you started the thread OP as do need to check when full balance is due by, I think mid Jan. Option to pay in instalments or the full balance of the final day due.

Not got a current one, but found one from last year.

Germany. ??310. 3 nights.

Letter home: 24th June 2014
??50 Deposit: 4th July 2014
2nd payment: September 2014.
Balance: January 2015
Trip: April 2015

Week in Germany at half term , about ??500 , paid half as deposit in June but not been asked for balance yet.

Had an email today about a trip to New York in October 2016.
Total cost ??1000.
??100 deposit now, final payment due by July.
The tenuous connection to the curriculum is that they will be visiting MOMA, so it's for Art.

The same (state) school is doing a History trip to Vietnam & Cambodia next March for the bargain price of ??1990.

Museums in Paris are FREE to students - they have included them on the price...

why are the pound signs coming up as ?

I think every letter needs to come AFTER a pay day tbh. Schools should have a long look st the range of trips they offer and how many people can regularly access them, especially with more than one kid in the school.

Also all trips run a slight profit for extras/emergencies ( ie ferry delayed and needing to buy lunch). we ALWAYS refund these to the kids, either by a treat when back at school or we give out spare money.
I wonder how many other places do

Not sure the 'after pay day' thing would work. People have different pay days.

Letters probably need to go out with lots of notice and only a very small nominal deposit initially to give interest, and then a slightly bigger second deposit within 30 days.

Then rest in instalments.

end of hte month is pretty standard IME

thing is that you can always pretty much pay in instalments once the deposit is down.
They do the so much by whenever as every trip has one kid's parents who leave it till the day before

Sports themed enrichment trip to jesolo in italy.Early June 2016,total cost ??800 for a week.
Already had to pay 100 deposit,another 200 due in October.

Trip to Austria for 8 days. ??500
Started paying Easter 2015, going Summer 2016.

Yr12 trip to Belize for two weeks at Easter 2016 -budget max ??2900, no payment details yet.