School trips costing £1,000 (state school)

[DarthVader]

Colleague said her 14 yr old is going on a school trip to USA costing in excess of £1,000.

I was amazed this kind of trip is run at state schools. She says it is normal and loads of kids go on them. I feel shocked at this! Is it really so? My dd is in primary so am I in for a shock?

No, AMerry, not at all jealous, but I do remain angry at you and your earlier post.

Ah well, that's for you to deal with, PG.

You make your bed, you lie in it. If you are so successful educationally, why can't you provide luxuries for your children? Those of us who voluntarily enter low paying jobs pretty much know what we are getting into. I have little sympathy, I'm afraid.

Magdelanian, "it will help with German language" is a very vague statement!

DD2 did the German exchange trip; DD1 didn't. DD1 got a better GCSE grade. They do a lot more German in class than on a 5-day trip!

I was explaining that's how it was marketed. DD didnt come back fluent .

Well, it's a bit tricky. If I organised a half term trip to Stratford, say, then obviously part of the rationale for it would be that it'd do the students no harm at all to see Richard III or Romeo & Juliet, say, in performance by the RSC.

If I started shouting the odds that this was an integral part of their SATs/GCSE studies, I'd have to do it in term time & arrange subsidised places where needed.

It's a bit weaselly, I agree.

AMS what a strange and philistine assumption you seem to be making, that education = money.

Why should being educated enable anyone to provide luxuries?

puzzled at the puzzlement

lol ravenAK I've just had a flashback to being tken to see Macbeth by our English teacher at the NT. We were studying Pride and Prejudice at the same time and as we came out for the interval, a heavily puzzled girl said: "I can't really understand the language, and I'm not sure if Mr Darcy's come on yet? Is that woman Elizabeth? Brodie's notes didn't say anything about her wanting ot kill anyone, should I read the book?"

Bliss, sheer bliss.

Yes I can understand. How can a trip to Poland (last year) not help with second world war history.

Funny you should mention Shakespeare. We had a letter to say that next years study of 'much a do' was being played locally. Took DD to see it even though it cost a bit. Could have spent the money on something else but didnt.

hmmm, lets see,
my mother has a PhD.
dh has a masters.
guess who earns more?

and, in order to earn more, dh had to set up his own business. the result is that whilsthe gets paid more, he can also lose his contract if he is sick for more than five days.

o, and bil? doesnt even have gcse's, earns almost as much as dh.

choices, pp

AMS - do your kids go to private school by any chance? If so how does your meagre teacher's salary stretch?

I'm actually very selective about school trips, PG. We all make choices and prioritise. It's a healthy lesson for children to see this too.

This isn't about choices.

It's about the role of education in our children's lives and whether their schools should be encouraging division.

At my old school I went on the ski trips and they were about 500-600 each. I was very grateful to my parents as it wasn't easy for them to get that kind of cash for a weeks trip. In Upper sixth the school tried to organise not only the annual ski trip, but also a trip to Italy AND a trip to New York. The New York trip had very little uptake (it was going to be about £1200) so it got cancelled. I was told to pick between Italy and Skiing and picked skiing. I figured I could see more of Italy myself for less money once I left school. On top of that, in between lower sixth and upper sixth I had two course trips - 1 to Paris for art and 1 to France for Georgraphy!

The school neither supported or suggested fundraising for any of these trips which seems crazy! It was a state school and the majority of peoples parents could not afford the trips so not many people scrimped and saved for them and many just didn't go. By contrast, I have friends who have attended private schools that organise trips to Kenya, Thailand, Malawi and they are all expected to do some kind of fundraising, despite the fact their parents are likely to be in a better position to pay.

At our schools the fund-raising for trips starts in the 6th form. E.g. a month in Madagascar is going to cost £3000. Students are expected to raise that money over 2 years.

It is about choices. We make the choices, not the school system.