School Trip

[user1467302549]

My daughter in Year 9 has applied to go on a French Exchange programmr with her school. The trip cost £600 and we promised that if would be the only trip involved during her time at school due to it being expensive.
Due to the trip being very popular, there were more people than spaces so the school said names would be drawn out of a hat. Yesterday she found out who was going and neither her or her friends got picked. Most of the people going are naughty, bad reports, uniform a mess ect.
I feel really sorry for my daughter because she has had 1 day off over 3 years, her reports are always glowing and she is top set for French and English. Most of the pupils chosen have had lots of days off and are in bottom sets for French.
Do you think i should approach the school??

tbh, no.
£600 for a French Exchange programme sounds incredibly expensive. They should normally be around half that, bearing in mind they stay with families who don't get paid and then you reciprocate, so all you're paying for is transport and trips out.

None of mine particularly enjoyed them either, or found them useful. Eldest went to a pig farm and a fire station in the depths of rural France. They came here and went to the London Eye, Oxford, amusement park etc etc.

Also, I've never yet come across a school with the language exchange trip is the 'one and only'. There are always other trips, including a media one in my DD's school, which I think was around £2,000 (not that she went), then there's the the 'Challenge' thing, which is £1,000.

No, I wouldn't approach the school. There may well have been a selective process at play here - maybe the poor achievers would be the ones who would truly benefit from such a trip? Could your child do an independent exchange in the summer instead?

I think you've misunderstood what happens when drawing names from a hat. It's random, and is used to ensure there is neither favour nor disfavour anyone.

What exactly would you be complaining about? The fact that the scruffy kids got a chance to go on the exchange?

Are you suspicious that the school didn't draw names out of a hat? To be honest I doubt they'd have deliberately chosen difficult pupils to take on the trip. If it was random I'm afraid you were just unlucky this time.

Yes, do approach the school and tell them why top set children should get priority for trips over bottom set, and how the condition of a childs uniform should be taken into account before allowing them on trips. After the stress of exam season I'm sure they could do with a laugh.

Meanwhile tell your dd that as she's been unlucky this time, she can go on a different expensive trip before she leaves school.

I think you may find other trips are better. Keep your powder dry. You have escaped the expense of taking the French child to places they are probably not interested in never mind sorting out dietary requirements. Your child may not even get on with them. Perhaps this is an unexpected and unscheduled punishment for the naughty children! Only joking!

It's not really a school trip. It's a boot camp. That's why they are sending all the students who need a uniform or attitude adjustment.
Shhhh. Don't tell them!

ha ha you're going to go into a school and complain that they gave children who possibly haven't had as nice a childhood as your daughter the chance to go on a school trip as well - oh my god! It's like as teachers we treat all pupils equally and don't judge them because their parents can't be bothered to feed them a decent breakfast or wash their uniform! Don't be so ridiculous you silly woman - and look up the process of names being drawn randomly out of a hat whilst you're at it!

And people wonder why so many of us MFL teachers don't bother with exchange trips any more........

My dd was top of the year in history, took part in a voluntary extra class in ancient history

Didn't get randomly selected for a history trip to Italy

Shit happens -your dd needs to suck it up

I'm sure you would have been complaining if a) your dd had been picked and not her friends or b) her friends had been picked and not her. This way is better.