A Ditherer's Diary (again)

lucielle

It does look similar to the one my 2 chose to do.  TBH they both said save your money and let them plan their own journey.  DD1 went to Thailand and Laos but the Laos bit didn't happen as a girl lost her passport and they couldn't go over the border.  DS2 went to Madagascar, his was a bit better and managed to see whales but again overpriced.  Don't forget you're fundraising to pay for the teachers to go as well.  HTH
L

Naomim

Thanks @lucielle I honestly don't think we could afford it even if we wanted to and do think they could arrange something with a charity when they are older if they have a burning desire to go. 

Spendless

Tbh this is one of the things that cheese me off about many of today's schools. These time of year you hear story after story of how kids were put into isolation (even yr 7s on their first day) for a uniform breach caused frequently by parents who have bought from the school uniform section  of stores that aren't aligned with exactly what the school wants (and is difficult to find) and they justify themselves from this stance with they want to make sure everything is equal to the pupils who can't afford to buy x  but don't apply the same rules when it comes to school trips that many can't afford!

You don't get a great deal of money selling on Vinted  - my DD has sold stuff on there. I agree save the money, in a few years time when you've paid off your debt and have some spare cash to contribute she may wish to go back-packing  or do a degree that's part study abroad or do an experience when she's off work, all of which she'll probably appreciate more than a 4 week school trip.  

Naomim

I agree @Spendless I'm sure there are many parents, us included who just can't afford this kind of thing. 18yo went skiing with school and that was £900 at the time and a struggle to find. I borrowed from my brother and paid him back monthly.

Everyone is hit by the cost of living crisis. By 2025 our mortgage will go up as we're currently on fixed rates. But we've been hit with all the other increases and I can't see anything going down anytime soon. Mine and MrM's salaries aren't increasing at the same rate. 

CRANKY40

Four weeks in Kenya. Someone in that school is having a laugh! Fairly sure that you won't be the only parents saying no. Mine was offered a trip to the USA or a week in Poland. I declined both and then lockdown happened. The trips were cancelled and the deposits weren't refunded.

Naomim

I do understand there are benefits to these trips but yes, the school seem to have failed in perceiving who their audience are.  Most kids are from the local couple of housing estates and we have a large travelling community in the area with kids attending being very hit and miss. 

ladyholly

This kind of thing presented to the children is simply unfair. Its like waving a bowl of rice in front of a starving man and then telling him he cant have it. I am sure the only parents who can afford it will be those who happen to be wealthy or borrow to pay for it. They have no thought for the rest of the children whose parents cannot afford it and telling the children to fund raise is just another way of putting pressure on their families who will be, on the whole, providing the funds from fundraising.

Schools need to get real and stop these stupid ideas and understand what they really know that the cost of living is rising. Surely thats why they have been striking or do they not realise other people have rising costs.

Sun_Addict

£4k for a school trip 😡 What planet are they on? Plus 4 weeks is a long time to be away from home at that age. My DD went on a school trip to Germany several years ago when schools went to more affordable places, she hated it, total waste of money. 

Naomim

ladyholly said:

This kind of thing presented to the children is simply unfair. Its like waving a bowl of rice in front of a starving man and then telling him he cant have it. I am sure the only parents who can afford it will be those who happen to be wealthy or borrow to pay for it. They have no thought for the rest of the children whose parents cannot afford it and telling the children to fund raise is just another way of putting pressure on their families who will be, on the whole, providing the funds from fundraising.

Schools need to get real and stop these stupid ideas and understand what they really know that the cost of living is rising. Surely thats why they have been striking or do they not realise other people have rising costs.

Another terrible idea was to show the kids a presentation about it before we parents even knew about it. Probably hyped up showing them how wonderful it will be. 

Spendless

I agree that telling the kids to fundraise £4k  takes the proverbial since they're at an age when the only employment they could find would be a paper round! It's a huge amount of money to find, even with 2 years to go or probably less since they'll want the whole lot paying upfront - what month is the trip in out of interest? .