School trip to cost £1650 quids per child

Fundraising is all well and good but if you live in a small village it’s a pain in the arse.
Either every kid who’s going knocks on your door asking for money or their parents badger you when you’re trying to have a quiet drink in the local. There’s usually at least 10 kids who want your cash every year.
I wonder what response I’d get if I went round to their house begging as they do so I can have a nice holiday.

He also plays in a local footie team and they do fund raising for away trips by bag packing and the like at local Morrisons – quite effective and certainly can raise a decent amount

This is also bloody annoying. I rather give my cash to a decent charity like Marie Curie, Mind or a local animal shelter personally. Being forced to give cash to a local football team as they pack my bags is really not what charity should be about.

^^^^ fair point, but in my case, and the reason I said I was surprised they aren’t doing any fundraising, its that we live in a large town, with all the main supermarkets represented and fundraising through bag packing etc is commonplace with kids sports teams, scouts, cubs etc. Experience shows most shoppers will chuck some change in a bucket. The football ones I have helped with we have arranged half a dozen kids, rotating every 2 or 3 hrs, with some parents in the background (required by store and club for security/safety) and have regularly raised over 1 or 2 K in a few Saturdays. When a team of 20 kids plus helpers are heading off on a coach for a weekend to a tournament this goes a long way to helping parents with the costs, which many cannot really afford.

Door to door stuff is not allowed by the football clubs and Scout groups my kids are in and I wouldn’t have thought schools would be keen on it either.

EDIT – just seen your edit. If it annoys you, which is your prerogative, its easy just to say no thankyou to the bag packing and not put anything in the bucket – many people do that, interestingly often the more affluent appearing ones 🙂

many people do that, interestingly often the more affluent appearing ones

Well if they are anything like me, they will probably be paying by card and don’t have cash in their wallet.

^^^ yeah, we need to up the fundraising tools and get card readers I reckon 🙂

No school trips when I were a lad. Oh wait, there was that time we got to go down Bolsover Colliery.

Trip down ‘t pit!! LUXURY!! Eeeh when I were a lad…………………

Again orders og magnitude easier for those with well off parents.
This thread only serves to highlight the massive importance of social capital.

I’m against school trips costing £1650. Also social capital is just a fact of life, if you’re Steve Peats kids I suspect you’ll be better at riding a bike than mine.

Experience shows most shoppers will chuck some change in a bucket.

Well, yes. Because you’re standing at the checkout and some kid starts grabbing your stuff and putting it in bags, you feel a bit of a tit if you don’t put some money in the bucket.

It’s not earning the money, though, it’s extorting it.

It’s not earning the money, though, it’s extorting it.

Bring back hanging for collecting money at checkouts! Society has gone to the dogs etc…

Ben – maybe that’s what happens in the West End, not up in EK 🙂

Many folk don’t want their bag packed, that’s fine. Some people chuck a few coins in regardless, that’s fine too.

I reckon if kids were ‘grabbing your stuff’ the store would be pretty sharp on having a word/stopping support for the process.

Extortion is taking it a but far…

iainc – Member
interestingly often the more affluent appearing ones

Not really interesting, just par for the course. There’s a reason affluent people are affluent, they are usually tight as ****! 😆

Because you’re standing at the checkout and some kid starts grabbing your stuff and putting it in bags, you feel a bit of a tit if you don’t put some money in the bucket.

Particularly if they hear a Scottish accent 😀

My daughter did bag packing, she asked before touching anything. I am sure kids are told to do the same.

Ben – maybe that’s what happens in the West End

Maryhill isn’t the West End, despite what the Estate Agents try to pretend 😀

Yes, I was teasing slightly. Anyhow, can’t remember the last time I got a full shop in a supermarket, we get home delivery. From Waitrose of course, even though we’re definitely not in the West End.

This always seems bit odd to me. Surely the money raised by “fundraising” will only be coming from the parents of the kids travelling so what difference does it really make if fundraising is done or not?

If any of the teachers had suggested ‘fundraising’ to us lot, that would have led to half the class bunking off for the afternoon, on the next bus into town for a bout of industrial-scale shoplifting to rival the post-invasion looting of Saddam’s Palaces 😆

From Waitrose of course, even though we’re definitely not in the West End.

aspiring, evidently 🙂

The school has a HR Director…wtf

Oh I was a bit startled like hora to discover that schools now appear to need an HR Manager.

I’m no fan of HR people (in fact, one of them has just thrown a major spanner in the works for me by not bothering to liaise with colleagues…), but what’s the problem with a school having an HR manager? It’s better than a bunch of people “having a go” in addition to their regular duties.

HR’s one of those things that everyone things they can do, but very few people can do well (including a bunch of HR people, apparently…).

HR’s one of those things that everyone things they can do, but very few people can do well (including especially a bunch of most HR people, apparently…).

Our HR manager does all the cover,payroll,arranges the maintaining of the building.Runs the complex registration process that is SEEMIS,also gets in supply staff and deals with the letting out of the building at nights and a huge H&S remit as well. All in all;value for money.

Duckman – if people hear you have the only competent HR person in the country, you will be inundated with offers for them!

Also social capital is just a fact of life, i

an oft quoted right wing mantra

It’s not only an issue with the cost in OP’s post, but you’d have to query the actual educational value.

We have amazing places and educational facilities in the UK and Europe we should be making the most of them, not wasting money elsewhere.

Aren’t middle class kids traditionally banished off to annoy people in the developing world with this type of thing? Or is that restricted to their gap years, to arm them with tedious stories to bore people to death with when they get to uni?

Hmmm, I’ll be 38 next week and I remember the odd school trip in later years of my School time coming up to over a grand, not that I ever went on one of the ‘big ones’.

In my school at least it seemed to be a bit of a jolly of the teachers – I remember the GCSE Art class always went to France, about 15 kids and 6 teachers, they returned with tales of a drunken nights, a slight teen pregnancy scare and little in the way of Art coming back – the Teachers got pissed and left the kids to their own devices.

If you really wanted to travel though, you played Rugby! Hong Kong, Oz and the US amongst others – the Oz trip they even offered the ‘B Team’ a chance to go – as basically a whole team of subs – that was over a grand. The Teachers didn’t pay of course – it was “work” for them – free trip down under every other year? who wouldn’t.

MSP – Member
And as the reality is both goals will be impossible for 90% of kids, the lesson is hard work fails.

The more people who believe this, the more important the real lesson becomes.

While others look for or hide behind excuses, the successful find opportunities and ways to exploit them. It was ever thus…..could make that part of education! 😉

[Imagine the new school motto: hard work fails 8O]

While others look for or hide behind excuses, the successful find opportunities and ways to exploit them. It was ever thus…..could make that part of education!

Sometimes I wonder how much of the real world you have seen.

Imagine the new school motto: hard work fails

In Latin please? 😉

Like everyone AA, a tiny, tiny fraction. You?

Still good to see how many developing world education systems reject defeatism and self limited beliefs. Some even teach off syllabus, don’t you know!

Laborem deficit

Or something like that.

If you’re a teacher and got to go on these things, may as well make it somewhere nice to enjoy and also price out the poor kids – as they’re usually the difficult ones….

Mostly I missed out on school trips away but didn’t really care as there were always more who didn’t go than did. Did spend a week in Greece before my O’levels with the school though which was great – teachers loved it too though this was a fee paying school and most kids were sensible enough.

My son has just started at school and currently trips are cheap £15 days out type things, interestingly all kids can go even if the parents say they can’t afford to pay – guess the £15 is enough to cover the odd kid who doesn’t pay.

I’m no fan of HR people (in fact, one of them has just thrown a major spanner in the works for me by not bothering to liaise with colleagues…), but what’s the problem with a school having an HR manager? It’s better than a bunch of people “having a go” in addition to their regular duties.

HR Director is either a very grand title or it implies the Academy is classing its pupils along the same model as big business (i.e. classing them as 1,000 employees for instance). I wonder what her remuneration is?

Someone with ‘other duties’ would more likely be called either the School Office (& payroll etc) Manager wouldn’t they?

Our son’s school is run on a tight-ship. Its strapped for cash we pay for ALL trips, they ask for contributions constantly and we are about to lose all our lollipop ladies from outside/near the school.

Like everyone AA, a tiny, tiny fraction. You?

More than you clearly. You should try it sometime. You’d learn a lot I’m sure.

Still good to see how many developing world education systems reject defeatism and self limited beliefs.

And how are they getting on with educational inequalities? Got rid of it I’m sure.

Some even teach off syllabus, don’t you know!

given lack of time and resources I’d rather my students get the best exam results they can as this is the main limit on their next steps. I’d love to do more but unlike you I live in the real world.

Duckman – if people hear you have the only competent HR person in the country, you will be inundated with offers for them!

I had heard rumours that there must be one somewhere, but thought they were just that, rumours. I am profoundly shocked to hear this, it violates one of the fundamental tenets of business life ‘All HR personnel are completely and utterly useless’.

From what I understand, a school cannot demand that any compulsory trip is paid for by the parents, but they just word the letters to to say something along the lines of ‘if one of you doesn’t cough up, we won’t be going’.

it implies the Academy is classing its pupils along the same model as big business (i.e. classing them as 1,000 employees for instance). I wonder what her remuneration is?

what the…?

I had heard rumours that there must be one somewhere, but thought they were just that, rumours. I am profoundly shocked to hear this, it violates one of the fundamental tenets of business life ‘All HR personnel are completely and utterly useless’.

My Miss’us works in HR, you should hear what they say about the rest of the business!

HR Director is either a very grand title or it implies the Academy is classing its pupils along the same model as big business (i.e. classing them as 1,000 employees for instance).

😯

My daughter’s school has 2500 pupils and nearly 400 staff.

I suspect an HR function for the employees is needed and if it was an academy they’d have payroll and personnel staff plus a manager?

From what I understand, a school cannot demand that any compulsory trip is paid for by the parents, but they just word the letters to to say something along the lines of ‘if one of you doesn’t cough up, we won’t be going’.

It’s a tough call for the school though – you know you can ‘bring the syllabus alive’ with a trip for a particular subject but the money they get as a school doesn’t stretch that far. They can chance their arm and see if parents are up for paying for it or continue to deliver it in a less inspiring way and probably get by.

Of course if the parents (and the rest of the voting population) would vote for a government that increased taxes and spent a bit more on education they might be able to put it on for free. We get the education(health/welfare/defence) system we deserve.

My Miss’us works in HR, you should hear what they say about the rest of the business!

Oh don’t worry we do, as HR departments are typically leakier than a sieve.

Oh don’t worry we do, as HR departments are typically leakier than a sieve.

Yeah… the last place I worked was like that. The head of PR would happily fill you, and anyone else, in on the most personal and intimate details of pretty much everyones lives. Completely unsolicited, and without a second thought to confidentiality

On mentioning this to people, turns out that its quiet often the case, that the HR department are the originators of pretty much all workplace gossip.

She was also the rudest person I’ve ever met. And not ‘rude’ in the good way. When people went to her about personal sensitive issues, she handled it with the compassion and empathy of Bernhard Manning. Also pretty common amongst HR people.

I can only remember two school trips, one was to Stonehenge, and the other to Burrington Combe and Cheddar caves, or it might have been Wookey Hole.
Only time I’ve ever been to Stonehenge, and back then you could walk up to the stones and touch them, now it’s all fenced off and I can’t be arsed; I’d rather go to Avebury, which I do regularly.
There’s a pub conveniently situated right in the middle, for a start! 😀

More than you clearly. You should try it sometime. You’d learn a lot I’m sure.

Says the teacher!

given lack of time and resources I’d rather my students get the best exam results they can as this is the main limit on their next steps.

An interesting perspective on education!

I’d love to do more but unlike you I live in the real world.

Is that where real people live? You must enjoy it….

As usual you write things but say nothing.