Options
Are school residential trips worth it?
Esensuelle
Posts: 1,722 Forum Member
✭✭✭
As title. My friend is panicking as her daughter brought home a letter informing parents of a residential school trip; 4 days for £395 for the end of September. We had a bit of a heated debate about it as she feels these trips should be scrapped altogether as it's unfair on those who can't afford to go. By the same token, by doing that, wouldn't it be just as unfair to do so for those who can go? Depending on the centre/facilities the children do get a lot of benefit from it....well in my experience.
Saying that my son is quite likely to have a France trip organised next year, god knows how much that'll cost!
Saying that my son is quite likely to have a France trip organised next year, god knows how much that'll cost!
0
Comments
Teachers, quite rightly, go free so the parents are subsiding the school.
And no, its not a good idea to save for them. Some parents cant afford to save for them. They can be the same cost of a whole family having a holiday. Why would anyone struggling to afford them send one child away when all the family could enjoy a holiday together instead?
When I was at school we all went. We baked cakes and sold them week after week until we had enough money for everyone.
Well most of the ones we went on had educational value, they were not just holidays.
Most are a complete rip off and parents should be a bit discerning about which ones their children go on.
Some however aren't too bad.
My son is going on a watersports trip in July, 7 full days in the south of France for £650 and it includes instructors/boats equipment ect. Not too bad when compared to the substandard offering from some in the UK. It's also the only way that we can afford for him to go abroad at the moment.
My advice is see what's on offer, in particular, ask about timings. Because some will say 5 day trip but you find the fifth day is "after breakfast we head home to be back in time for the end of the school day".
As for those who can't afford it, you'd be surprised how many don't pay full price or even anything, yet rake in hundreds of pounds in child tax credits.
They have no value whatsoever to families that can't afford them.
My son will have his international trip next year. The type of school he goes to it seems expected that all children attend.
Totally disagree, I would never had gotten into water sport and mountain biking (off road) if I hadn't gone on one of the trips we all went on.
We had a skiing trip when I was at school, I was gutted as it got cancelled as half of the parents didn't pay up; I was really looking forward to that.
Really educational then, sounds like a holiday to me.
These are my thought too.
Co-ordination skills is hardly a holiday.
Well it depends on what you call educational; spending a week learning how to do these sports isn't what most people do on a typical holiday is it.
Same with skiing.
Of course many people do these things as holidays but they aren't a week in Spain you know? In fact; do hard up families do these things as holidays? (Generally); if not then is that not more reason for your kids to do this with the school?
Our school skiing trip certainly wasn't educational it was a holiday more than anything else. How do you know what most people do on holiday, a week in Spain can be far more educational, depending where in Spain you are, or even what you do when you are there.
Indeed and especially if it's an international trip; you are expected to use your language skills in shops and out and about, well we were.
He's at secondary now and at special school, they do a residential every years, he's off for a three day PGL type trip in May for £90.
He isn't really looking forward to it because of last time but I am more relaxed in that he has friends in this school and I think he will be fine
As were we, both in France and Germany. In France, if you were caught speaking English when out and about you got a right bollocking. Nothing tops watching our Geography Master getting arrested in the States though, that was hilarious.
^^^
The explanation'll be the overall post of the day.
Did some more at what used to be sixth form level. Ones that dove tailed into my a'level options. Best things I ever did. I was in the last party to cross check point charlie before the wall came down. Saw the Soviet Union in all it's fading glory the year after. Two trips that I wouldn't be without.
My parents didn't pay, I paid. I saved my birthday and Christmas money, went carol singing, had three paper rounds and cleaned cars in the posh parts of town. I had jobs every summer. I'll admit my dad would often put a fiver in here and there and I was short on the Moscow trip so my Nanny lent me the balance and never let me pay it back.
Travel can be an incredibly edifying pursuit. If we'd have been blessed with kids I'd make every possible sacrifice in order to be able to give then even a quarter of the same opportunities.
Why was he arrested? Do tell...:D