School Trips (State Secondary)

[historyrepeatz]

Does your DC attend a school which releases information on what school trips will be potentially offered throughout the school journey and rough costs rather than communicating trips in isolation with no information as to what if any other trips may be available during their time at school?

At DD’s school there were no trip offerings in years 7-9 then three in year 10. Not getting selected for one didn’t give you a better chance at the next trip so some students were selected and went to more than one (2 trips around 2.5k and one <1k.) No information at that time on whether there would be any future trips (will be asking them).

Our DC's school has a student/parent meeting for each year group in September/October including detail about the trips coming up that year and outline information about subsequent years.

No indicative costs until the trip opens for booking, but it's pretty easy to infer from the description what sort of level the costs are at, eg a long weekend in France vs a week's skiing in Canada.

You sign up for the bigger trips more than a year in advance, with payment plans in place.

So far, the trips seem to be available for all, or all that want to go.

I thought you meant trips to museums and art galleries rather than ski holidays. I just said no to those sort of jaunts as if you do it for one child you have to do it for all.

DD's school offers several trips, of which you are guaranteed to go on one in year 7 or 8 and one in year 9 or 10. Indicative costs are given (though these haven't always been very accurate). We applied for her year 8 trip at the beginning of year 7, partly so we can pay in installments. I don't know if you could go on both the year 7 and year 8 options if there's space, but we haven't asked.

@LetItGoToRuinthat sounds really well organised!

@Annoyedddsorry should have made my post a bit clearer. I have two DC and I could do one each for them (not the 5k one just offered though!) but would like more notice about what’s coming and make commitments accordingly.

@whoateallthecookiesthat sounds good too!

It depends on a number of factors tho.
For example, I was an MFL teacher at a secondary – we ran trips in year 7 to both MFLs studied; but then we changed to alternating the languages, so then we had to alternate the trips. Then one MFL was switched for another. Also one trip was run to a specific location bc one of the staff had a great contact there – when they left, the contact was gone. Or a staff member may have a specific interest in a curriculum area and run a related trip – again they may leave, or that area may no longer be covered and the trip will stop.

So you see it’s difficult for schools to give a schedule of trips for years to come. So many things can change.

For my own DC, they were all offered (and too part in) a trip in KS3 to the country whose MFL they studied, but in different years, again bc of the way the trips were run. DD then also went to Iceland on an A level geog trip; DS2 went to Berlin on a KS4 history trip.

There are always limited places on any secondary trips (it’s not like primary where most students will go). If you are concerned about how these are allocated (and it can be a headache for schools on a popular trip) then ask the school. Personally I favour a message (email/letter) saying “booking will open on xxx date” (in a few days’ time rather than on that day, so as not to disadvantage those whose parents work late, for example) and then it’s first come, first served. Alternatively, put all those who commit by date x into a hat and pick out 50.

FWIW some of the prices mentioned here (and on other threads) seem steep to me. We kept our MFL trips around £300-350 (this is 6-7 years ago tbf) by making them shortish and travelling by coach or hunting down v cheap flights. But even my DCs’ school had MFL trips at hundreds rather than thousands (even tho they had to fly to Spain and Berlin.