School Changing Trip Destination 3 days before travel

melanzana

I wonder what the son thinks?

I bet he doesn't care, as long as he's going somewhere with his friends from class/school.

Kids don't care where it is, as long as they are AWAY from parents, free, with their friends, and having a ball.

It's about him, not mum.

He will start his growing up now, if you let him.

If he happens to be disappointed which I doubt, it's a life lesson in dealing with things like this, just as he enters adolescence and starts growing up.

If I were Mum here, I'd save my energy for the terrible teenage years TBH!

Nikkisun

Think yourself lucky they're still going away - when my son was in year 6 he and his friends had spent ages looking forward to the residential trip to France that every previous year 6 had been on. We got a letter informing us that due to the 'financial climate' the residential trip was cancelled and in it's place the kids got to do three things:

1 - a safety action day (in other words a normal curriculum activity)
2 - a morning orienteering (a walk in the local woods)
3 - a day trip to London for which we paid a fortune and the most exciting thing they did was go to McDonalds for chips!

Disappointed doesn't even begin to sum it up!

Buzzybee90

Say_who? wrote: »

I think people are being a bit harsh with the op. Surely it's not asking too much for a school to have its act together. School trips are extremely expensive. My daughter is in year 6 and just came back from France, if I'd been told she was going to newlands again with short notice I would not have been a happy bunny.

As it is she was encouraged to watch 'the hunger games' (12 rating) on the ferry and witnessed teaching staff drinking alcohol.

Hey ho not worth making a fuss over but not very professional.

I had a drink WITH my teachers on a school trip! I was 16 though!

[Deleted User]

Teachers can leave their job at any time of the year in the same way as any other employee as long as they give the requisite notice - this is usually half a term.

Janepig

mossstitchmama wrote: »

I am being pretty calm, if you could read the comments being left on social media by parents and pupils, most of them are wanting a refund. Will be interesting to see what reception I get tomorrow from the party leader.

The other parents and children may need to tread carefully if they're posting derogatory comments about the school on social media sites. On two occasions in the last few years afew parents have seen fit to do that about DD/DS's school and the school have not hesitated to contact the LEA's legal officers who have given them advice as to the implications of this and the school wrote to parents accordingly. Whether you agree with that or not (freedom of speech?) it is something the school may well not be happy about.

FWIW I have to say I agree with the majority of the posters here, it's a bit of a storm in a teacup. It's a school residential trip, it's not your two week family holiday abroad, and they'd have had much the same experience whichever location they'd gone to - in fact it sounds like it was a good idea to avoid the IOW.

DD is in year six and going on a weeks' residential at the end of the month. I'm guessing I'll go along to wave her off, but should something crop up and I can't then I won't lose sleep over it, I'll just drop her off as normal with an extra big hug. She's been on sleepovers, she did a two day residential with the school in year 5 and an overnight in year 4. Whenever I've been to wave her off she's barely given me a glance from the bus window!

DS went away for two nights with the cubs afew weeks ago, he's 8, and I did pull out all the stops to go and wave him off, but again if I really couldn't have, as long as either myself or DH was there then I wouldn't have lost too much sleep over it.

I fail to see what more the school could do in this case.

Jx

LilElvis

Kiss the feet of the teachers who are giving up their time to look after your kid! My mum was a teacher for over 40 years, and for nearly 20 of them she gave up her spring half term holiday to take her entire year to the isle of Wight. A handful of adults and 80 children - puking, missing their Mum, fighting. She needed a month off when she came home, totally shattered, but turned round and went back on the Monday morning, ready to start a new term.

Don't send your child. Sort out childcare. Go on your course. ....or be grateful that your child has teachers who are prepared to give up their own time to give your child memories that will live with them.

Poppie68

Im flabbergasted parents are getting so worked up about this, it's a very immature reaction to something so trivial.
Makes you wonder what they would all be like if a real disaster occured. Ranting about wanting a refund and creating trouble on a social network is a childish over reaction to a first world problem.
Move on and say goodbye to the kids on friday and just hope the weather does'nt add to the carnage the parents seem to be making of this trip.

boo2410

Your son will enjoy wherever he goes so long as he is with his mates!! My son is off to Hilltop in Norfolk this September and he can't wait. He went there last year too and had a FAB time.

If I were you I'd be positive about it, tell him he"'ll have a great time and drop him off normal time. As another poster said (and my son is exactly the same) you'll only embarrass him by seeing him off!!

Our boy gets dropped off at 8.45 and parents never see the kids off but we are all there waiting for the coach to drop them back again - and they are relatively pleased to see you then having been away for a few days :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

GobbledyGook

If a travel company were let down at the last minute (I had to change flights in London coming home when Excel airways went bust - nothing the company could do about it), but offered a transfer to another hotel with the exact same facilities and opportunities, refunded the difference in cost and offered a full refund if folks wanted to cancel I can't see why people would have serious cause to complain. A little grumble maybe, but full on complaint no. Same if flight times change, most people accept that because it's not entirely within the control of the airline/travel company.

Amanda65

I would have thought what would really spoil the last few weeks of Yr 6 would have been for no alternative to be arranged and your son and his friends not having the opportunity to spend a few days together having fun before they all move on to secondary school.

I would be thanking whoever it is that has no doubt spent a lot of time and effort ensuring that the trip will still go ahead so as not to have a group of very disappointed children.