[Closed] Unrealistic school trips part 2. The meeting...

I am sure the price includes a high speed satelite broadband link so that they students can keep up on social media and not feel excluded.

reasonable and necessary part of a young persons education and development IMO should be mandatory,

We're in a place called belper. It's a normal state school but doing above average in grades etc. The town is originally an old Mill town so still lots of working class folk around. In the last ten years the town has really upped it's game and last year won high street of the year 😯
If you want awesome quiche from the award winning deli and then a choice of 10 different hairdressers then it's the place to be! But it's by no means an affluent town!
Fundraising got mentioned and during the presentation a shot of what a previous participant had raised was shown. He apparently earnt 340 sheets at a ****ing car boot sale?

These things make me laugh. Lifestyle experiences for little kiddies hidden under the premis of helping the poor. Learning life lessons etc.

What a load of bollox

Say 20 kids go on this trip at £3500 each. That's £70,000. Its already been noted that either the kids parents or through fundraising (IE doing some meaningless gesture so parent then dips into their pockets anyhow).

You want to teach them a life lesson. Get them to do the fundraising so they get the 'experiences' then break it to them that you are transferring the money abroad to invest in a few local businesses (One being setting a guy up as a builder/decorator). £70,000 is probably enough to set up a dozen new business over there and they will last longer than a few weeks of kids pissing about.

If that doesn't rest well, why not pay a group of homeless, out of work ex forces guys/gals to go over and work for a year. I bet they could achieve a lot more than a load of privalidged kids.

Don't forget, they get the life experience of proper sacrifice when they realise they aren't going on a 'free' holiday.

Like bigdummy, these sort of trips (they were c£2k in the early/mid 90s) were out of reach to me. That's a life lesson right there in learning how to manage your place in the world among the kids of some well off people.

We spend all of our adult lives having to deal with money. I'd rather kids were able to kids, and not have to worry about it. Really, the school shouldn't be putting parents in this position.

The annual ski trip at my 80s comprehensive school always left us with a very clear understanding of who was one of us and who was one of them

Depending on the kind of trip it is, raising the money to go is an authentic part of the experience.

So far we've had primary school PGL-type trips to fund. Not so expensive and they worked well. I like it when we pass by places in the Peaks or Lakes that our children call out as 'been there'.

Last year was a trip to Normandy & Bayeux. At about £350 that seemed OK. But much more and I'd balk unless we were also talking about how to raise the money through work and events.

It's a trip to Malawi. The company organising are these guys.

as you were

If that doesn't rest well, why not pay a group of homeless, out of work ex forces guys/gals to go over and work for a year

Fundraising got mentioned and during the presentation a shot of what a previous participant had raised was shown. He apparently earnt 340 sheets at a **** car boot sale?

More likely he sold a couple of grands worth of nearly new/not at all knackered stuff for a fraction of it's value.

Guess who paid for the kit in the first place.

My last school had a French exchange, i went twice. Didn't go on the german exchange. (They were actual exchanges, we had to put a french kid up for a fortnight, twice) Only cost about £200 quid for transport and trips when we got there, food and accom was covered by the host family.

A small group were offered the chance to go to the US every year, same deal for the Russian trip. My folks took one look at the initial letter, and threw it in the bin.

I think it will do her good to experience how other cultures live and fend for herself for a while.

Hah.

You mean live for a couple of weeks in a self-congratulatory bubble with your mates having a santised (sorry - "curated") experience and leave thinking you're a humanitarian worker.

Pfft.

If you want to give her a good experience, get her on a proper outwards bound course. That cost is just a piss take, someone is making money, and I doubt there is significant benefit to the locals (although some similar schemes do seem to give some benefit on top of the "experience" of the middle class white kids).

If it was your daughter wanting to do it off her own back it would be a bit different, but as a "school trip" it's ridiculous.

I think I explained that my two could go skiing with the school or do diy in a hot place, at the moment one has been skiing the other is waiting to go skiing. Our local school has trips like this regularly and I also wonder how people with 3 or so children afford it as "its not fair" if you "only" send one.
I would rather put it towards Uni or house or car.
Apparently it is a life skill they need to learn. Its also one I don't have.

You want to teach them a life lesson.

Buy a half acre plot with the money and get them to double dig it. That'll learn em 😈

My partner's son did a Cambodia one last year. Same cost and he raised a fair chunk. The teaching they did is unlikely to have changed lives, and he isn't any more keen on eating interesting food. Some leadership skills learnt perhaps ...

I think he'd have learned more about himself and others by using the same dosh to do a ski season or travel independently next year.

Nice business to be in...

There sure are some grumpy old sods on this thread, that's for sure!

Not that I'm any different I hasten to add! 8)

We spend all of our adult lives having to deal with money. I'd rather kids were able to kids, and not have to worry about it. Really, the school shouldn't be putting parents in this position

I do wonder what sort of relationship with their kids some people have. If you can't afford it, just say so. Kids don't have to be protected from all the unfairness in the world and as things go this is pretty minor.

I do wonder what sort of relationship with their kids some people have. If you can't afford it, just say so. Kids don't have to be protected from all the unfairness in the world and as things go this is pretty minor.

But that was my point - in this case, the school shouldn't be putting parents into the position of having to say no.

Just had a letter from school regarding the 2018 trip to Swaziland to help a school out there.
£3379 per pupil .... and I've got twins there!
Thankfully they have already decided that it's too expensive - I feel bad though 🙁

We went to the museum once. It rained

Looking briefly at the OP's link, is it some kind of Operation Rally thing where you go and save baby elephants or connect a village to a water supply so they can start growing drugs?

My wife went to Africa and had to raise the £2k or whatever it was back in the day.

Also some of my friends raised money to go on what appeared to be an expensive piss up canoeing down the Yukon River when they were in Venture Scouts.

Or is this the equivalent of the school residential trip that I did to some shitty hostel in the Yorkshire Dales in my early teens?

It's a trip to Malawi

I live in Malawi at the moment, you can fly here for £700ish and then live like a king for a month on the remainder. For perspective the minimum wage here is <£1/day.

How much would it cost to provide the locals with the necessary training and building equipment to do it themselves?

A lot less than 70 grand I'd imagine.

How many teachers could you train for that?

Not as many as you think molgrips

Go read land of second chances for an interesting cycling related perspective on the challenges faced and a good explanation of the black hole of charity.

As a VI Former I went on an A-Level History field trip to the USA. It was expensive. I paid half and my parents paid half.

It had zero educational benefit, but I did finger a cheerleader. Which, I feel, made the whole thing worth it.

But that was my point - in this case, the school shouldn't be putting parents into the position of having to say no.

I'd say that was at least one of the educational aspects of this trip - those parents who want to wrap their kids in cotton wool and be their best friends get to explain to them that you don't automatically get everything that you want whenever you want it.

Only child came home with a similar letter a few weeks ago, £4170.00 for a 4 week trip to PERU in 2018 which includes a trek to Machu Picchu, benefits include earning UCAS points equivalent to an AS level. He didn't want to go, even though we said he could. (nice grand parents would have contributed) Niece went to the Himalayas last year on a similar trip.

I've had dealing with outlook expeds and they are slick.

They run training days/weekends before hand for both pupils and teachers and make sure that staff are trained in exped first aid. These trips are a min of 14 days. They also take the financial organisation and draw up payment plans with parents as well as organising fund raising.

Still a lot of money though.

benefits include earning UCAS points equivalent to an AS level.

That smells pretty bad.

Yer,..'smarts a bit of paying for UCAS point to me that

Was that with Camps International? They (and others but they're the big name) do the ASDAN Certificate of Personal Effectiveness. It sounds bullshitty but it's an actual thing (every so often it causes a Daily Wail outrage, along with pony club and dance certification) It's no more buying UCAS points than doing night school is.

Whether or not you believe it's equal to an AS level is another thing mind.

Ah, so it's a recognised course.

In that case fine, bit steep mind but hey..

If only the D was an L, that would be a good certificate 😆

8 kids died on one of my son's school trips.

The school had economised on the bus charter to cut costs. The brakes failed descending a mountain and it went over the edge packed with kids. Several other kids were maimed for life.

I never let my kids go on school trips after that.

Jeepers.

^^ That is why you never put a whole year group on the same flight if you can help it.

Cripes - that's shocking Epi.

OP how many teachers are planning on going

£70k? Malawi?

Our Boys Brigade raised £70k over a year, from very wealthy Dunblane.

That sent 25 boys and some leaders to !alawi for a fortnight. It paid for I think 12 new school classrooms (re-roofed, windows, plaster, drains, steps etc), new toilets and a Marys Meals kitchen renovation. The BB boys spent 8 days painting the new rooms, two days in local community and three days hiking or safari.

I still had an issue that some money was going to our boys heading over there, however what they achieved was fabulous.

As I said on this last thread my first thought is that its a disgrace that state schools promote this shit. However when trying to compete with the private schools should state schools try to at least offer this CV enriching stuff? At an interview a kid could talk about his trip to Malawi to help people and how he raised money or about how great he is on XBox.....
Wouldnt take any kids on one myself though, sod that. Going to the Natural History museum is bad enough!!

Or you could go to tha same african country as a family trip paint some class rooms and contract malaria, dysentry etc and save yourself thousands.
Same experience of living in a place with no wi-fi, hot / cold running water , Nandos etc.
Why pay the school and this 'world experience' company for the privilage of s******g in a hole in the ground?

Or in an ever so slightly less cynical frame of mind . Time for an excel spreadsheet on the cost of running the family budget on a monthly/ yearly basis.
No reason why the kids should not learn what it costs to live in the real world , and although all the nice toys arae all handed over at birthday or christmas time that cash has to come from somewhere.
The kids might then appreciate the £300 phone and the effort and scrifices that parents have to go through to scrape together enough cash so the gadgets are in shocking pink , and the trainers arent by Dunlop thus alleviating playground bulying and possible social ostracism by not having an Iphone7se

stick it all in there food, gas, electric , water , council tax, car tax, car insurance , mtg, pensions ,holidays, house contents ins, house buildings ins, TV licence , fuel , servicing MOT costs. You might get something out of it as well.
Might be best to leave out the shiney bike parts secret stash column , or put in a rainy day amount of say £100s if we need a new clutch or washing machine

You could get 4 weeks for less than £1500 inc.flights and transfers from a quick search:

http://www.originalvolunteers.co.uk/destinations/africa/malawi.html

paint some class rooms

Do a fund raiser, raise some cash, goto B&Q buy paints and brushes, send them to the village and get the lazy gits to paint their own ****ing walls!! I need my kitchen painting and for a mere £1000, I will let you live in my garage and I'll give you some fig rolls 😆

Do a fund raiser, raise some cash, goto B&Q buy paints and brushes, send them to the village and get the lazy gits to paint their own **** walls!! I need my kitchen painting and for a mere £1000, I will let you live in my garage and I'll give you some fig rolls

and supply a bucket to crap into , some mosquito's, a 5ft snake that may or may not be venomous, and a badge thats got one of those god awful mission statements on it " Saving the world one brush stroke at a time"

Where do I sign up?

Do a fund raiser, raise some cash, goto B&Q buy paints and brushes, send them to the village and get the lazy gits to paint their own **** walls!! I need my kitchen painting and for a mere £1000, I will let you live in my garage and I'll give you some fig rolls

As I said in the first thread, I am a fan of trips like this, I do see they have lifelong impact.

I am not a fan of commercialised, overpriced, purely for fun, and mis-placed well meaning....

Relate it firmly to learning and life - and as a context, it can be amazeballs.

There is a lot of cynical and bitter sounding off on this thread. God forbid a company made money running these trips! We happily shell out on expensive stuff for ourselves and kids which companies sell and make money from giving employment to people.

At least these companies are also providing life long memories and some experience of other cultures and giving something back that is really worthwhile. So if you're wondering whether to encourage your child to do something like this and don't want to 'diy' it to save money here's my experience.

At the age of 17 in the 90's I went to Peru for 4 weeks with world challenge. I think the cost was somewhere between 1000-1500 and we fund raised about half. My parents who were fairly well off paid the rest for me to have an experience that I vividly member now. It was in no way a cushy holiday. It was a serious culture shock and very challenging experience, trying to source food and accommodation in a language we didn't know well (we did Spanish lessons once a week for a year beforehand) each child had to take turns being leader for a day and I absolutely dreaded my turn as a very shy child. We had physical challenges of hiking remote mountains and carrying all our stuff, sleeping under the stars, cultural experiences in the cities and towns, we stayed with a lovely family in the Amazon jungle, hiked the inca trail to machu picchu and built a play ground for a remote village School. We experienced physical hardship, sickness and a month away from everything and everybody we take for granted (no mobiles or Internet back then though) I cherish that experience but had never been so happy to see my mum and English bread in my life since. I know that it's possible to experience these sorts of things perhaps in a gap year but as a very shy, anxious female I know I wouldn't have done these things on my own and never will again.

To address the free holiday for teachers aspect:I went to a very big, well performing secondary and none of our teachers were able to or wanted to come so we had a teacher from a nearby primary come instead and our world challenge leader was an absolutely brilliant guy who I'll never forget.