[Closed] School trip to cost £1650 quids per child

I had a 3 week school trip to the States back in '79. Do you think that you went to the wrong school?

I didn't go on school trips. Not because we couldn't afford it but just because my stepdad didn't want to spend out on a child that wasn't his. Life can be hard, it's not a bad lesson to learn early on in life.

Some would even say it didn't do me any harm.

We can all remember our school trips to some industrial factory or the seaside,

Speak for yourself! 🙂

how things have changed for the worse, children and parents will feel left out if they dont go /cant afford to pay.

This is nothing new. Trips such as ski trips have been running for years; those that can afford it go , those that can't don't. I'm not saying its fair, but its not a sudden development.

No they wont.

In school or at home and at scouts we did bag packing, cutting grass, car washes, cake sales, ran discos delivered newspapers, worked at marinas and in boots or a supermarket and did sponsored things to subsidise our Trips abroad. it's a perfect learning opportunity in itself never mind the holiday.

Parents that just shell out the cash on demand are the dafties and end up with spoiled weans.

If we were lucky we had a day at a castle. Son goes to CERN next month. It's not fair.

and this one is obviously an exceptionally expensive one beyond what most think reasonable, hence it made the news.

...children and parents will feel left out if they dont go /cant afford to pay.

It's only open to the sports teams anyway, so plenty of kids are already feeling left out regardless of the cost of destination of the trip.

There won't be that many parents in Horsforth that can't afford it anyway 🙂

I wouldn't worry about children feeling left out. The trip won't happen because there won't be enough pupils going to make up the teams. Unless it's now 2-a-side football.

It's only open to the sports teams anyway, so plenty of kids are already feeling left out regardless of the cost of destination of the trip.

Ban competitive sports now! BAN THEM!

Medals for everyone.

We had school ski trips back in the 80s costing a few hundred, equivalent to probably £1000 in today's money.

Not any more expensive than an international Scout Jamboree has been for the past 20 years depending on where you are travelling. World challenge expeditions cost this much.

The poor kids in easterhouse raise this kind of cash easy without jepordising their parents bank account. If they even have one.

Lots of parents seem to need their hands held these days.

Speak for yourself!

we know about Flash's school days - summers in Rangoon, luge lessons, in the spring they'd make meat helmets...

True story. A friend went on a school ski trip, he fell out of bed on the first night, broke his arm or something and had to go home early. The school offered to pay for his trip the following year, as he got off the coach on arrival to the resort, he slipped on the ice and broke something else. The school didnt offer again. He now lives in Sweden.

The only school trips I can remember we're georaphy field trips involving staring at Limestone pavements, while getting quizzed about their formation by a man with leather patches in the elbows of his jacket, in the rain, on some bleak yorkshire moorland

Anyway.... The parents are so annoyed they've taken to Facebook. I note no-ones risked the nuclear Mumsnet button yet, so they can't be that angry.

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Done a bit if youth work with underprivaledged kids and its amazing the positive effect trips away can have on some.

Of course the kids that might benefit the most are invariably the ones that can't afford to go, its a shame that the teachers can't see beyond a free trip to the barbados to appreciate that.

Project's School trip.

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I went to France for a week my parents scrimped and saved for me to get.

kimbers - Member
Done a bit if youth work with underprivaledged kids and its amazing the positive effect trips away can have on some.

Kimbers, I used to work in the French system that's loosely called "Classes vertes" (Green school). It's a wonderful system that gets kids out of some pretty shitty places (And yes, there are some even in cities as lovely as Toulouse!) and puts them out in the countryside, sailing, climbing, canoeing, archery, abseiling from a dam, whatever. Of all the jobs I've ever done, seeing the kids eyes light up with every new achievement remains one of the highlights of my life.

its a shame that the teachers can't see beyond a free trip to the barbados to appreciate that.

I can confidentially say that I have not been on a school trip (as a teacher) which was truly enjoyable, irrespective of the location. Flipping hard work. Rewarding yes, enjoyably no.

Even so, It feels like a poor choice.

Storm in a teacup IMO.

I can confidentially say that I have not been on a school trip (as a teacher) which was truly enjoyable, irrespective of the location. Flipping hard work. Rewarding yes, enjoyably no.

And again, having worked as a teacher (Again in France!) I can attest to that. Only did one school trip, though, but it was very hard work indeed.

Cfh, know exactly what you mean done similar in the states, hardest work, some very troubled kids but best most rewarding job ever.
Coming back to the uk as a scout leader in haringay, real contrast between the backgrounds of the children there and those from the poorer backgrounds benefit so much more than those from muswell hill

I went on a school trip with world challenge about 15 years ago cost around £1000 so not that shocking..

Heading to Zambia for an exchanging classrooms trip. Spent a year fund raising £20k for the exchange including bringing 5 zambians here. As a teacher no matter the trip you don't relax until you've been home for at least a pint.

Ban competitive sports now! BAN THEM!
Medals for everyone.

That's certainly wasn't my point (just in case you thought it was)

My point was that it's not an inclusive trip that open to all anyway, and the school is in a pretty wealthy area, making cost much less of an issue, so the price isn't the thing that will make anyone feel left out.

With three kids in school there's absolutely no way I could afford to send them all on a trip like that ... that makes me feel like a bad father 🙁
You really do have to question the choice of destination - is there nowhere else they could have gone?

Neal, I know well that it wasn't your point! Was anticipating (and taking the piss out of) the way that some sections of the world like to try and remove competition from anything!

Kimbers, it's a stunning thing isn't it? I remember getting one kid to the top of a pitch. She was terrified all the way up. Got to the top, crested the rise, and saw.....mountains, a waterfall, a river, a massive bird of prey up on high and a cartoon sky. Her eyes lit up as if every little bit of bad had been taken away from her. Wonderful.

When I come to power, I'm going to make sure the state funds something like Classes Vertes.

My point was that it's not an inclusive trip that open to all anyway, and the school is in a pretty wealthy area, making cost much less of an issue, so the price isn't the thing that will make anyone feel left out.

I live in a wealthy area.
I cannot afford to send my kids on the high school trips.

My kids see the others wearing their 'trip hoodies' all the time, and are constantly asked why they are not going on the London weekend(£550), the battlefields trip (£580), the Milan football trip (£750), the band week in Italy (£850+sponsorship of another £120 by parent council) or the expedition. (£3200). They feel awkward - we had middle_oab in tears as we could not afford the London trip, and he is getting stick about it.

So, tell me again about how the cost thing isn't an issue, with everyone in a school clearly being as wealthy as each other?

So, tell me again about how the cost thing isn't an issue,

Because the trip is only open to the sports teams.

That means loads of kids can't go. So the cost isn't the thing that makes it an exclusive trip.

If the trip cost 45p lots of kids who are crap at sport are already feeling left out, but nobody would GAS about them would they, that wouldn't make the news. ?

(Did you really want me to tell you again, or was it just your way of trying to make a point?)

with everyone in a school clearly being as wealthy as each other?

No they aren't. Pretty sure I didn't say they were either.

[i]This is nothing new. Trips such as ski trips have been running for years; those that can afford it go , those that can't don't. I'm not saying its fair, but its not a sudden development. [/i]

+1

No different +30 y/o when I was in school.

And the last ski-trip my youngest went on cost £1000 (paid for over the year).

But my son was invited on the band trip to Italy, and will be invited again this year. It is selective on those who play in band, by musical skill.

I can't afford it.

So he sits in practice, in a sea of Italy 2014 hoodies every week. As far as we can tell, three families of 40-50 in the band and choir, did not send thier child. We know them, and it was on cost grounds.

I find it difficult, when they could run a band trip to cheaper, but no less interesting or educational locations. They could stay in a hostel, not a three star hotel. They could trim a few extras like the hoodies and nice restaurants for a couple of the nights. This may bring the price down enough that the few excluded because of cost.

I get your point, but it is still discriminatory if you dont make the effort, on the grounds "it's a wealthy area".

I will never forget a primary school educational trip to a nearby sewage works.

Never.

I will never forget a primary school educational trip to a nearby sewage works.

Me too (mine was at secondary age). The word 'cake' has always been a bit tainted for me since.

Meh. Prepares them for the real world where their boss at work takes a private jet to watch the Monaco GP from a yacht, while they scrape for a weekend in Blackpool.

Life isn't fair, deal with it.

I get your point, but it is still discriminatory if you dont make the effort, on the grounds "it's a wealthy area".

It's discriminatory either way.

Your son is in the small group of kids who can could because they are allowed to.

Most of the kids in the school aren't even invited.

So they get to feel left out too, but they get to be left out for being rubbish at music.

No different at all, yet it seems it's totally acceptable oddly.

Got to say, at my school it was the 'posh' kids that got to go on the expensive trips that got tormented.

school trips to some industrial factory

My standard grade chemistry class got a trip to Dounreay 🙂 Overnighted in Carbisdale castle YH, ghetto blasrter in the minibus up the road - happy days.

As a piper, I was lucky enough to be in school at just the right time for two heavily subsidised exchange trips to Hungary at 15 and Estonia two years later. Utter carnage both times, really happy memories of them both.

Out town, belper, is a smallish not posh place in hood old Derbyshire. Son brought home a letter from primary school last week a letter about a trip.
£1300 quid ish, however it's to Russia, to see the space programme in full action (hopefully) to actually speak to cosmonauts on the iss, and various other stuff. 3 days sightseeing etc. Translator to go with them etc. How come we didn't make the news?

school trips to some industrial factory

The landrover factory trip we went on was utterly brilliant.
As was Sellafield.

I never got to go on school ski trips because my mum and dad couldn't afford it, but they did get me on a ferry trip to Holland where I found a rare Iron Maiden picture disk then got to feel Angie's tits on the coach on the way back to the UK - money well spent.

Two great challenges should be part of this:

1. Go and raise some money - initiative
2. Get in a team - drive and determination

Good solid lessons in life. More of the same please. First things I look for as a recruiter. So start them early IMO....

I will never forget a primary school educational trip to a nearby sewage works. Never.

Me too, minworth sewage farm with all the johnnies 😉 sir, what's that?

S.S.Uganda educational trips. - now they were an education. Convent girls, ouzo and stomach pumps. Fond memories along with all the imports of flickknives!!

I've been convinced for years that it's more about where the teachers want to go and what they want to do with each other than anything else...

Slightly less glamorous, but we were dumped in Porthmadog high street for about 3 hours whilst the teachers went to a pub for dinner once, got hounded by the local youth so spent about 2 hours hanging around a burger joint next to the cop shop.

Exactly THM.

I had a pal in scouts who came from a poor background. But he had more drive than the rest of us put together. We helped him with some fundraising to get to a jamboree in Japan. But he did most of it himself. He now teaches sport and science in international schools all over the world. Technically he never really came back.