A school trip too far?

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mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

A school trip too far?

Post by mike1880 »

Is it just me that finds this irritating?
The PE department is excited to launch a new and exciting tour to Cozumel,
a little island just a short ferry ride away from Playa del Carmen in Mexico. This will be in July 2016 for approximately 9-10 days.
Cozumel is famous for its unique diving experience. You will get an opportunity to gain your PADI diving qualification in one of the top 5 diving destinations in the world.
I know it's an independent school and all, but this just seems to me to be taking the p***.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by Guest55 »

Nice free holiday for the PE dept ... why not somewhere a bit cheaper?
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by mystery »

I think it's both irritating and foolish. It's the kind of sport where things can go wrong and I don't know that Mexico is where I would want my child to be at that point.

There seems to be a good lack of judgement these days. There's a primary school not a million miles from here sending lower ks2 children to Moscow soon. I'm not entirely impressed with that decision either.
Reading Mum
Posts: 1841
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by Reading Mum »

mike1880 wrote:Is it just me that finds this irritating?
The PE department is excited to launch a new and exciting tour to Cozumel,
a little island just a short ferry ride away from Playa del Carmen in Mexico. This will be in July 2016 for approximately 9-10 days.
Cozumel is famous for its unique diving experience. You will get an opportunity to gain your PADI diving qualification in one of the top 5 diving destinations in the world.
I know it's an independent school and all, but this just seems to me to be taking the p***.
It is also a very expensive way of doing a PADI qualification. DD did hers locally in a pool through a dive club and we are off to Malta (also a top location for diving) to do the 2 days open water referral in the summer holidays. I learnt in the sea and would rather have done that bit in a nice pool. Save the time abroad for the interesting bit.
KB
Posts: 3030
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:28 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by KB »

For goodness sake!

What is the point of novice divers going all that way - they are hardly going to have the skills to appreciate the diving location.
Malta and Canaries have perfectly adequate diving for novices if this is something the school wants to offer and there are parents prepared to send their children off to do it.
Be very interesting to know how much the staff are paying towards their own costs......
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by Guest55 »

KB they won't be - these companies offer free staff places which, of course, pupils effectively pay for.

I have taken school visits myself but was very mindful of this and made sure I paid for treats - of course looking after other peoples children 24 hours a day is not easy ..
KB
Posts: 3030
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:28 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by KB »

I was sort of guessing they would be freebies. I well know the responsibility and appreciate the work involved for staff but never the less feel that if you are taking a trip then a Mexican island is probably higher up the wish list than a converted gravel pit in Lancashire ( for scuba diving lessons). There always seems to be a waiting list of staff to go on certain trips where the free holiday outweighs the hassle.

I guess if parents are willing to spend the money on such extravagance then that is their choice.

Perhaps it is the less extreme but still more expensive than strictly necessary trips that are more central to mainstream school experiences that we should be more concerned about. Geography field trips have been discussed at length I believe but also sports team tours to the Caribbean or Africa and D of E expeditions to south america..... Clearly these are not part of the curriculum but they do exclude children who would have been part of the "team'' up until that point.
Moon unit
Posts: 654
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:14 am

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by Moon unit »

Mike,would you feel able to say how much it costs?
Sorry to come back to the dreaded geography field trip but my neighbour's son ( also at an indie) doing GCSE has a ( non compulsory) field trip for £3800!
Not sure how the lessons afterwards work for those who don't go. My son's field trips at a state school are day trips to Lyme Regis and Croydon.
I feel quite strongly that these expensive trips shouldn't be offered at all. It just puts parents under pressure and I can't see how it is good for children to be indulged in this way. Even if I could afford it I wouldn't send my children.
My children's best ever school trip was the one they did in reception when the walked to the local bus garage with their packed lunches,had a look round,all got a turn in the drivers seat and honked the horn. Cost nil.
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by scary mum »

Apparently DS has a letter in his bag about a trip to Malaysia! Then next year he will get one about the rugby trip to New Zealand. Ridiculous.
scary mum
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: A school trip too far?

Post by Guest55 »

Name and shame these schools ... it's immoral when so many are struggling.
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