Cost / Number of school trips

mum2one

My DD is 13 - shes in yr 8

We'v had the first letter re trips planned this school yr...

2 day to London - £185

5 day trip Germany - £390

5 day trip - outwood bounds centre £340

...........

I know that trips are not compulsary and its the parents choice, but to me its putting pressure on families - as a single mum I can't afford to pay for these trips, the only child support I get is £5 a week (that is when it gets paid - can't be relied on)

I know that 2 parent families also will struggle, as well as those with more than 1 child, -

Why offer that many trips - puts parents in an unnecessary expense.

restless6

As you say; they are not compulsory, so not a problem.

If you don't want to send/cannot afford to send your child then don't fret- there will be plenty of other kids not going.
I don't see the trips as pressure at all because the majority of kids dont go- maybe one bus load per year.
But if you do want your child to go- ask the school to set a payment plan, this is what I do and spread the cost over a year, then it is less noticable.

meritaten

mumtoone - is the school sneakily suggesting these trips are 'linked' to the curriculum and would be 'advantageous' to the child?

fierystormcloud

The trip to GERMANY sounds the best value. Maybe just let her go on that one.

mum2one

meritaten wrote: »

mumtoone - is the school sneakily suggesting these trips are 'linked' to the curriculum and would be 'advantageous' to the child?

You've hit it on the nail.

x

pendragon_arther

The thing is it makes the parent feel guilty for not being able to let the child go on these trips as they could be disappointed and feel let down.

HappyMJ

mum2one wrote: »

My DD is 13 - shes in yr 8

We'v had the first letter re trips planned this school yr...

2 day to London - £185

5 day trip Germany - £390

5 day trip - outwood bounds centre £340

...........

I know that trips are not compulsary and its the parents choice, but to me its putting pressure on families - as a single mum I can't afford to pay for these trips, the only child support I get is £5 a week (that is when it gets paid - can't be relied on)

I know that 2 parent families also will struggle, as well as those with more than 1 child, -

Why offer that many trips - puts parents in an unnecessary expense.

If you are on full income based benefits then you might be eligible for some of the costs of these trips to be paid for you in the form of a grant.

The Outward Bound trip for example https://www.outwardbound.org.uk/courses/schools-colleges-and-youth-groups/financial-support/

Why is the Outward Bound trip £340. The site advertises it as £183. If the extra is transport costs try asking the school or local authority for help.

mum2one

HappyMJ wrote: »

If you are on full income based benefits then you might be eligible for some of the costs of these trips to be paid for you in the form of a grant.

The Outward Bound trip for example https://www.outwardbound.org.uk/courses/schools-colleges-and-youth-groups/financial-support/

Why is the Outward Bound trip £340. The site advertises it as £183. If the extra is transport costs try asking the school or local authority for help.

Jam on benefits - but as there. It local authority run I don't get a penny towards them, the outsold bound is a rip off, luckily she did the place with her primary school - she doesn't want to go again.

Think she's opting for London, with a push and a shove - clever budgeting can do the trip, feel quilty not being able to offer her the choice of the others

When we had the meeting for the France trip they said they don't have the cheapest firm, guess when your adding 5 adults for the trip - soon adds the child's ticket up x

Spendless

My DD is also in yr8, but her school run one school residential per year group and she didn't get a place. The cost was £285 for 3 nights in France, which looks to be in line with the figures you've quoted.

In my DD's case there are more kids not going on the trip, than children who are, but if your school is running 3 different trips then the chances I'd have thought are that most children are going on one trip.

kingfisherblue

My son's year group has over 200 pupils, and trips ar usually offered across two year groups. There is a limit to the number of pupils that can go - one coach means around forty pupils, plus staff. Many pupils don't go, whether through choice or lack of places, I don't know.

I'm on benefits, but with careful budgeting and a year to pay (in instalments), my son was able to attend a trip to see the battlefields in Belgium and France earlier this year. He wasn't able to attend other trips for the couple of years beforehand, including day trips. As it happens, my son is very keen on the history around the World Wars, and it did link in with his history GCSE to some extent. He really enjoye the trip, and participated in fundraising (supermarket bag packing) beforehand, which meant that he contributed to some extent, by giving up his time in order to save myself and other parents money. He's hoping to return to the battlefields as an adult because he enjoyed the trip so much - he felt a real sense of awe and respect for the soldiers, and attended a remembrance service while he was there, which he talks about four months on.

So my advice would be to decide with your daughter whether any of these tris are ones that she really wants to attend, or would she prefer to wait and see what is offered over the next two years (the school may be happy to tell you, if you explain that you will need to budget for them). You could then start to put away a small amount each month.

Don't forget that trips don't always cover the full cost of food - my son's as half board, but the fundraising covered the extra meals and all snacks and drinks. There is also spending money and possibly new clothes, credit for mobile phone, and other bits and bobs. For travel abroad, there is also the cost of a passport if the child doesn't have one already.

Grumpygit

I know exactly what you mean about trips.

I am in a fortunate position though in that my ex and I pay money into an account which funds these things and other expenses for her, so she has been able to go.

A little spoilt in that respect but my OH is all for her going as he was never able to go when he was at school (but his brother did!) so he doesn't want her to miss out.

She is in year 11 now and is due to go on another trip in March to the UK which is for English Lit and is a visit to a theatre, see a shakespeare play and a workshop - that' is £390 and it's just overnight, yet in October she went on a 5 day business studies trip to Manchester for the same price!

We do end up paying more as they (depending on the trip) have to fly to Gatwick or Manchester (from Guernsey), so that is an added expense on top of everything.

Her school used to be really bad by sending a letter out 3 months before the trip and expecting people to pull several ££ out of their pockets in a short space of time (the last time they did that was last November for a trip in January!)

If people get letters early enough then you can plan for this type of thing, but Kingfisherblue makes a good point about the extra money to possibly find for food and spends.

Maybe think about putting money aside weekly/monthly for this type of thing even if she doesn't go on any of these, at least that way it may not be so much of a panic to find the funds and as she is in Y8, there are loads more school trips coming your way.