A school trip too far?

[Tolstoy]

Our DS was offered Iceland and I was unprepared to commit to the trip partly because there is a constant threat of them being taken off courses if they don't make the grades at AS level. It filled up though and there in lies the inequality, some parents can and will pay.

[kenyancowgirl]

This isn't an abroad trip, but we've just had one for a few activities towards the end of term which total £77. Includes a trip to London with a show. All vey nice, but again, it's the drip drip more money please feeling. If we can't pay then you can write to the headmaster, how embarrassing and actually it's not that we can't afford it, but it is yet another expense in an expensive month that has you sighing over your cornflakes a bit. If we say no then Ds has the humiliation of probably being the only one left in school that day, unlike an expensive trip abroad where there will always be a good proportion who don't go.
I just don't see why things can't be local, restricted money wise to maybe £20 for a school trip, and that schools cut their cloth to fit their budget. I've no doubt DS will enjoy himself and it will feel like a lovely treat, but so would a more local trip.
In GS you do tend to get a dmographic that is fairly middle class and many are fairly comfortably off. I don't blame the GS for milking that cash cow particularly, so long as they are things you can comfortably and non publicly just not take part in if your cash is pulled elsewhere, like extra curricular money raising evenings. But school trips introduce a pressure on parents that does involve disappointment or head scratching, when there is no need for it to, as these trips are not even adding to the coffers of the school.

Start saving Yamin....they go to Marle Hall in Y8 for the week and France in Y9 for the week...think they are both about £300 each.

It can be difficult to find the money, but like you, we are a family who would not ask the head for help, always believing there are other families where genuinely, this would be the difference between sinking and surviving. To be fair to the school, they do issue a list which details the trips for each year that are coming up, with a stress on the compulsory ones, which enables parents to look ahead and start to budget and make choices. For example, we gave ds1 a choice between skiing and Iceland - neither are compulsory but they come in at around the same price. Neither are something we plan to do as a family so we have budgeted for one, since he started in the school.

Trips do need to be as affordable as possible but there will always be someone who says it is too much for them, whatever the cost. As long as the really expensive ones are optional and the cost is kept as low as possible on the "compulsory" ones, I think it would be a shame if schools stopped doing trips altogether. In life, there are many holidays I would like to go on - unfortunately I can't afford them - so I choose ones I can afford, or we don't go at all....I prefer the years we go away somewhere!

[KB]

I agree that the schools shouldn't not provide opportunities for those who do want them just because not everyone wants to/ can afford to participate. However I think it would be more appropriate if the trips were 'relevant'.
The Mexican scuba trip seems so crazy because it isn't appropriate for novice divers so seems no justification.
In the case of ski trips they do provide for parents to send their DCs if they would like them to get the experience but its not something they would do otherwise.
One of my DCs did a trip to Iceland with very knowledgable staff and got a huge amount more from it then even if we had gone as a family. It was done during the school holidays and very much a minority of pupils across year groups so hopefully no-one felt any pressure to participate.


I agree also that schools could make more effort to look at the cheapest options for subject specific trips rather than the most exciting. Its good for children to realise what is available in their local area and that fun and interesting days can be enjoyed with out incurring costs.

[Warks mum]

We nearly got caught out because DD's school advertised a fairly pricey (optional) trip well in advance and asked us to pay in instalments up front, beginning a long time in advance.

DD then decided to school for sixth form. Originally she was told she could still go but then the original school changed its mind, suggesting we'd only get our money back if someone else took DD's place... Fortunately someone did as we weren't prepared to pay for a trip DD wasn't allowed to go on!

[Yamin151]

This isn't an abroad trip, but we've just had one for a few activities towards the end of term which total £77. Includes a trip to London with a show. All vey nice, but again, it's the drip drip more money please feeling. If we can't pay then you can write to the headmaster, how embarrassing and actually it's not that we can't afford it, but it is yet another expense in an expensive month that has you sighing over your cornflakes a bit. If we say no then Ds has the humiliation of probably being the only one left in school that day, unlike an expensive trip abroad where there will always be a good proportion who don't go.
I just don't see why things can't be local, restricted money wise to maybe £20 for a school trip, and that schools cut their cloth to fit their budget. I've no doubt DS will enjoy himself and it will feel like a lovely treat, but so would a more local trip.
In GS you do tend to get a dmographic that is fairly middle class and many are fairly comfortably off. I don't blame the GS for milking that cash cow particularly, so long as they are things you can comfortably and non publicly just not take part in if your cash is pulled elsewhere, like extra curricular money raising evenings. But school trips introduce a pressure on parents that does involve disappointment or head scratching, when there is no need for it to, as these trips are not even adding to the coffers of the school.

Start saving Yamin....they go to Marle Hall in Y8 for the week and France in Y9 for the week...think they are both about £300 each.

It can be difficult to find the money, but like you, we are a family who would not ask the head for help, always believing there are other families where genuinely, this would be the difference between sinking and surviving. To be fair to the school, they do issue a list which details the trips for each year that are coming up, with a stress on the compulsory ones, which enables parents to look ahead and start to budget and make choices. For example, we gave ds1 a choice between skiing and Iceland - neither are compulsory but they come in at around the same price. Neither are something we plan to do as a family so we have budgeted for one, since he started in the school.

Trips do need to be as affordable as possible but there will always be someone who says it is too much for them, whatever the cost. As long as the really expensive ones are optional and the cost is kept as low as possible on the "compulsory" ones, I think it would be a shame if schools stopped doing trips altogether. In life, there are many holidays I would like to go on - unfortunately I can't afford them - so I choose ones I can afford, or we don't go at all....I prefer the years we go away somewhere!

Yes, the up front list is very helpful. I do also agree that so long as not compulsory, school extra curricula trips that are entirely non compulsory are easily dealt with, although it is disappointing when far more would be included in a trip to France, for example. But that said, yes, we can opt out and dS won't be alone in that.

I do still feel the £77 for activities week is a bit stiff though, as it would be far harder to say sorry, no, car is being serviced, you will have to stay in school on your own, as I suspect no one will turn it down. One day trip at around £20, doable I'd have thought, and then supplementary free trips if it must be a whole week of things (when did that begin? A whole week? It's like hen parties, no longer acceptable to just be one evening, has to be a whole weekend, lol!)

And I don't claim our school any worse than others. Or that it isn't a school we love, cos we do!

[KB]

A week of paid for activities sounds excessive. Could they not have just as much fun and learning from organising free ( or very low cost) activities for themselves or for others.

I'm sure its not just a particular school but there does seem a trend of handing on a plate to students when they could be given opportunities to take responsibility and help others. In my experience many of the young people rise to such challenges and enjoy such activities as much as a series of 'treats'.

It does concern me that we are teaching youngsters that they need to pay for 'laid on' fun and not how to occupy themselves cheaply.

[mike1880]

I can't resist exhuming this one for one last outraged snarl: total cost of the Cozumel trip is £2400 (edit to add - not including spending money...).

[Yamin151]

And here's me feeling guilty that I forgot to give Thing 1 £2 to spend in the arcade at the bowling alley where they went for his INDIE school trip!

Next year they do have an abroad school trip though, it's year 8, and its France, all in £400. How refreshing.