School trips

hm71_2

Reggie_Rebel wrote: »

Drop them off in Manchester with £20 each and see how long it takes them to get home. Once home they have to calculate how much it cost them per mile and per hour (or day or month) to get home

I wish!! it would have been cheaper!!!:rotfl:

foreversomeday

santashelper wrote: »

So if this was a maths trip surely the perfect opportunity to provide the class with an exercise to do some research to see how they can get the best deal for the best price which would be very educational for every day living when they leave school - is it just me or do you get the impression the obvious seems to slip the minds of teachers nowadays.

I wouldn't put the blame on the teachers, the national curriculum is so strict and the government guidelines, exam board mark schemes etc, mean teachers don't have the freedom to teach as they used to or perhaps do in other countries. In Finland, for example, the national curriculum is a guideline. Our education system is flawed because it is dictated by politicians who have never taught a class in their life. All the schools care about is raising grades and so we get the impression that the exams are being made easier.

nickj_2

school s do think that all parents have an unlimited supply of cash ,
a lot of the trips seem to be for " character building " rather than having any educational benifit ,
one of my neighbours daughters asked her for£1000 to go skiing with the school in the usa ,

Mrs7ones

silvercar wrote: »

Do check with the college, my son had to go on an A level geography field trip as it was part of the course work for the A level. Without it he would have had zero for part of the course work.

If there is no way he can go on the trip, he may have to accept the risk of getting a lower grade or choose a different subject!

I'll get him to check when he starts (they have 2 weeks after starting A levels to swap courses, so he can do that if needs be)...
I will not be paying that much for a trip for him.

Savvy_Sue

I'm surprised he can't check beforehand, I know DS3 has had an email saying that they can discuss course changes on the day results come out, or before they break up, or make an appointment for the first day of term.

Will your son be eligible for EMA? Would he be willing to get a job and pay for some of the trip? I would try to let it be his choice, if that's at all possible - change subjects, or pay for some of the trip.

And I know that Iceland is where our 6th form goes for Geog field trips, so doubt if it's that unusual, IYSWIM.

minimoocow

Whilst that does sound a bit steep I think the main problem is probably with all the red tape that has to be sorted these days which does push the price up. I organise trips for a children's club and struggle to justify costs - hiring a minibus for the day costs £10 a head each before you go anywhere and that's if we have a driver available who has passed the MIDAS test. I got a quote yesterday for a 25 mile return trip with their driver - £160 for 8 children!!!!

We have worked out we can go on the normal bus instead and fortunately are able to do this but lots of schools don't want to risk public transport and feel they need door to door service.

Until we stop making it more difficult for trips to go sadly ahead the cost will keep rising!

MMC

tiff

Our primary school have always done a Mon-Fri camp in year 6. They've now introduced an overnight camp for Year 4, at £99. Next year I will have a child in Yr6 and Yr4, so thats £400 on camp. We will have to compromise on our family holiday at this price. What annoys me is that the Yr 6 camp used to be £170 but they have changed to PGL which is over £100 more expensive.

andysstuff_2

tiff wrote: »

Our primary school have always done a Mon-Fri camp in year 6. They've now introduced an overnight camp for Year 4, at £99.

That's extortionate! My DS had a Y5 overnight camp on the school field last weekend, total cost - £0. Admittedly they had to buy food, but cooked it on a fully supervised BBQ. Can't you suggest your school look at this option?

tiff

I will next term, but my DD will probably chose brownie camp at £25 for the weekend! I just wish they had stuck to the year 6 camp only.

Mrs7ones

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I'm surprised he can't check beforehand, I know DS3 has had an email saying that they can discuss course changes on the day results come out, or before they break up, or make an appointment for the first day of term.

Will your son be eligible for EMA? Would he be willing to get a job and pay for some of the trip? I would try to let it be his choice, if that's at all possible - change subjects, or pay for some of the trip.

And I know that Iceland is where our 6th form goes for Geog field trips, so doubt if it's that unusual, IYSWIM.

He's not entitled to EMA (or anything else), and he already has a weekend job...
If he were an only child I dare say it wouldn't be a problem, but we have 3 very expensive kids!
That said, if he decides not to join us next year on our family holiday, we may well be able to pay for that instead.