Are school residential trips worth it?

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  • incy wincyincy wincy Posts: 839
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    I think some trips are worthwhile and some trips aren't. Parents should be discerning about the ones that they choose to pay for.

    My kids' school has the standard MFL trips, so if you study French, you go to France for a few days or you can do an exchange. Fair enough, if reasonably priced. However, there was a 'Maths trip' to Paris recently, costing £600 for 4 days. One of my friends works in the school and said she asked one of the staff who went, how it related to Maths and they said there was no Maths involved at all. How they justify that one, I don't know. I wouldn't pay for that sort of thing. At least try to pass it off as an Art or Languages trip, and throw some education in, especially when they're missing a week of lessons for it.
  • HotgossipHotgossip Posts: 22,385
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    IMHO I think most school trips are a waste of time and hard earned money. I was never able to go on school trips as my parents were unable to afford them. I have friends who went abroad on school trips and they are no more knowledgeable or proficient in languages than I am.

    My son went on trips to London, Derbyshire and France and wasn't over impressed with either. he said they were too rushed and there wasn't time to appreciate the sights etc. His cousins went to various Places including New York and they said the same. My friends daughter went to India with her school last half term and she said it was too much of a rush and they spent more time in airports and on coaches than they did experiencing India. Bearing in mind that the rest of the family ..... 4 more kids plus parents gave up so much to allow her to go, it didn't seem worth it and she has decided that her younger kids won't be doing the same.
  • dearmrmandearmrman Posts: 21,435
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    Spouthouse wrote: »
    To the people who are describing residential trips as a "rip off", how much do you think round the clock child care costs? Try getting a live in nanny for a week, adding to that the cost of food and lodgings, and see how much change you get from £1000. Most residential trips rely on the good will of teachers who give up their extra time completely free.

    And what about some of the parents that accompany these trips as well, or volunteer to help the schools when they need extra assistance.
  • HotgossipHotgossip Posts: 22,385
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    My friends daughter is a teacher and she was complaining that she had to pay for her jabs to travel abroad on a school trip.

    She was getting a weeks free holiday and she was also getting paid and it was her choice to go. She even got paid for the taxis to get her to and for from her home to coach station.
  • SpouthouseSpouthouse Posts: 1,046
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    Hotgossip wrote: »
    My friends daughter is a teacher and she was complaining that she had to pay for her jabs to travel abroad on a school trip.

    She was getting a weeks free holiday and she was also getting paid and it was her choice to go. She even got paid for the taxis to get her to and for from her home to coach station.

    Free holiday? FREE HOLIDAY????

    Firstly, she'd likely only be getting paid for her normal working hours, not the hours overnight worked.

    Secondly, supervising large groups of students is a huge responsibility and can be extremely hard work. It can involve very little sleep and a great deal of stress.

    You may assume this would be a free holiday. I would consider that to be greater reflection on your own work ethic than that teacher's.
  • PrincessTTPrincessTT Posts: 4,300
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    I went on a school trip to Canada which was great... The trip was open to all students from Year 9 to Year 11 but there were only 15 places on the trip, the places were given to the first 15 pupils to pay the deposit.

    As much as I loved the trip it wasn't very educational, we did lots of sports activities, lots of relaxing by the hotel pools and lots of shopping.

    A year later I went on a school ski trip to Lake Tahoe... The trip was open to Y9-Y13 students and there were 25 places, again the places were allocated on a first-come-first-served with the deposit basis.
    It was another great trip, the skiing was great as were the meals out and the shopping opportunities but it wasn't an educational trip.

    As much as I enjoyed both of those international trips, our year 9 trip to Sayers Croft was amazing too, me and my friends creeping out of our dorm room windows to drink vodka and play 'truth or dare' in the little adventure playground is one of my favourite teenage memories.

    My mum thought they were worth the money though as her and my step-dad would go on a holiday at the same time as I was on the school trip and so they got to go away just the 2 of them without me, and according to my mum the cost of the trips (split 3 ways between her, my step-dad and my dad) was cheaper than her and my step-dad paying for me to go on holiday with them.

    I hope to be able to send my kids on as many trips as possible when they're at school as I had such a great time on mine.
  • d0lphind0lphin Posts: 25,327
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    I think the MFL trips are very important if your child is studying a language especially at A'Level. My son went to France (twice) and Spain although that one was a bit stressful for me as the hotel they were staying in went on fire!
    I had to give up my language A'Levels as the rest of the class had been abroad and my family couldn't afford it so I found it quite a struggle.
  • dearmrmandearmrman Posts: 21,435
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    Spouthouse wrote: »
    Free holiday? FREE HOLIDAY????

    Firstly, she'd likely only be getting paid for her normal working hours, not the hours overnight worked.

    Secondly, supervising large groups of students is a huge responsibility and can be extremely hard work. It can involve very little sleep and a great deal of stress.

    You may assume this would be a free holiday. I would consider that to be greater reflection on your own work ethic than that teacher's.

    So I assume you don't think there worth it either, especially what the poor teachers have to put up with.
  • SpouthouseSpouthouse Posts: 1,046
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    dearmrman wrote: »
    So I assume you don't think there worth it either, especially what the poor teachers have to put up with.

    For students, residential trips are really valuable. They're often the thing that people remember most fondly about their school days. For many young people it's the first time they've been away from home without their parents so it's a great learning experience, personally, for them.

    For staff, as I already suggested, residentials can be very tiring with no financial recompense. However, it can be hugely rewarding spending time with students away from the classroom. Enough so to make it worth it for a few.
  • Incognito777Incognito777 Posts: 2,846
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    I went skiing for 4 days on a school-trip. It was excellent, me and my friends had lots of fun and I still remember it well. So glad I got the opportunity to go.
  • RandomSallyRandomSally Posts: 7,068
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    I think they're worth it. And while I sympathise with the kids whose parents can't afford it, for the friend of the op wanting them stopped because of that is spiteful imo.
  • SammmymackSammmymack Posts: 1,145
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    Hotgossip wrote: »

    She was getting a weeks free holiday.

    From experience let me tell you that it is the furthest thing from a holiday. Staff are on 24hr duty but not 24hr pay. The younger the children the more issues with sleeplessness/homesickness and older ones need supervision at night for other reasons. There's very little down time as you tend to have to eat with the children. You're lucky to get a shower and 2 mins in the loo.
    First aid is a major responsibility , run of the mill stuff like inhalers plus we've had appendicitis and diabetic collapse to deal with along with the usual clearing up of travel sick.
    Afterwards sometimes the odd parent actually thanks the staff but more often than not there's complaints and moans about trivial things on our return. Oh yes and one threat to be sued! Not quite the holiday you imagine! All worth it for some inexplicable reason. ...a bit like teaching. And yes to answer your question, totally worth it for the children.
  • MentoristMentorist Posts: 603
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    Parents worried about the cost should contact their school especially if their child is eligible for pupil premium funding as there may be support available.

    Also the previous poster is correct - school residentials are a 24 hour job for the staff, it's a long long way from being a holiday.
  • claire2281claire2281 Posts: 17,283
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    dearmrman wrote: »
    And what about some of the parents that accompany these trips as well, or volunteer to help the schools when they need extra assistance.

    Don't see it very often as very few parents have the relevant checks to allow them to be with other people's children.
    Spouthouse wrote: »
    For staff, as I already suggested, residentials can be very tiring with no financial recompense. However, it can be hugely rewarding spending time with students away from the classroom. Enough so to make it worth it for a few.

    Quite!

    We're taking a group of Year 9 and 10 students to Geneva during Enrichment week at the end of the school year. They'll be visiting the LHC amongst other things. It'll be a great and interesting experience for them and will be far cheaper (due to the massive group discounts) than it would've been to go outside of school. However, I know already how tiring residential trips can be - especially foreign ones - when you're responsible for (in this case) 50 kids. I am only glad I'm not group leader for this one because that really is a shed load of stress.
  • PrincessTTPrincessTT Posts: 4,300
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    One of my teachers at school was Canadian and hadn't been able to afford to fly home and see her family the whole time she had been over here, so as soon as the Canada trip came up she volunteered to go.

    Her family came out with us a few days and for a few meals, it was really sweet how happy they were to see each-other.
  • HotgossipHotgossip Posts: 22,385
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    Spouthouse wrote: »
    Free holiday? FREE HOLIDAY????

    Firstly, she'd likely only be getting paid for her normal working hours, not the hours overnight worked.

    Secondly, supervising large groups of students is a huge responsibility and can be extremely hard work. It can involve very little sleep and a great deal of stress.

    You may assume this would be a free holiday. I would consider that to be greater reflection on your own work ethic than that teacher's.

    Blimey, calm down! Nobody forced her to go. According to her mother she volunteered to go because it made a break away from her hubby and 4 kids and she could not have afforded to go to India herself.
  • highnalhighnal Posts: 2,083
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    Mentorist wrote: »
    Parents worried about the cost should contact their school especially if their child is eligible for pupil premium funding as there may be support available.

    Also the previous poster is correct - school residentials are a 24 hour job for the staff, it's a long long way from being a holiday.

    Yes indeed.

    My partner is Head of MFL and routinely organises these trips for his school. Whilst he doesn't specifically advertise the fact, if parents of pupils with premium funding are unable to pay for such trips, they're entitled to speak to the school who should be able to arrange support. For example, a parent on a trip last year only had to pay the £50 deposit after asking the school for financial help.

    I completely agree that these trips can provide life-enriching experiences. Even if they're not 100% educational, the time away from home, managing their own spending money, learning about life in different countries/cultures etc... can be key in helping your kid grow up and mature. Not exactly wasted money!
  • izanamiizanami Posts: 2,788
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    I went on one when I was at school, it was pretty fun.

    None of my kids wanted to go on theirs though.
    Their school does give out payment cards so you can save for the trips though which is a good idea.
  • jeffiner1892jeffiner1892 Posts: 14,215
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    Sammmymack wrote: »
    Afterwards sometimes the odd parent actually thanks the staff but more often than not there's complaints and moans about trivial things on our return. Oh yes and one threat to be sued! Not quite the holiday you imagine! All worth it for some inexplicable reason. ...a bit like teaching. And yes to answer your question, totally worth it for the children.

    In fairness my mum usually got thanked by most parents, there was the particular incident where a child's bag was left behind but got recovered and soon after they got home my mum got a thank you letter and a gift voucher from the boy's mother.

    That said she usually needed a week to recover from the trips herself.
  • LnMidnaLnMidna Posts: 3,638
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    Most of our school trips were for educational purposes. The only ones that weren't were the water sports weekend, ski trips and choir trips.
  • NoseyLouieNoseyLouie Posts: 5,651
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    I near enough had a heart attack at my daughters p7 trip this week, had 2 months to save 200 pounds, I am a single mother, my ex hub backed out in his share of halves, saying his 150 pounds a month payment for maintenance (two kids he sees twice a month) should suffice..was angry, and its an outdoors trip for 3 days so spent an extra 40 on cheap primark clothes to see it through. Dont want the decent clothes ruined..meh. Hope
    she enjoys it though.

    Just annoying the money I usually save up for easter trips has been eaten already. But, little one enjoyed the parks and free easter pets show, so phew.
  • zsb37105qtyzzsb37105qtyz Posts: 1,488
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    The furthest trip away was last year (March) to Belgium (Y9 History although I decided not to take it). It cost about £100 and I went becasue we weren't going by plane. It was a good trip but the hotel was cheap (must be why the trip was £100) and they poured mushroom soup on all the food >:(

    However, French trip this year (February) = cancelled>:(

    Y6 = Wales = Ranch = Looking forward to it for several years = guess what

    CANCELLED >:(>:(>:(>:(>:(

    Because we only had like 2 days before we had to pay
    I still believe we should have had a school fete to pay for the rest but no, they start doing that after we moved up >:( Our school was atrocious
  • LushnessLushness Posts: 38,158
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    The furthest trip away was last year (March) to Belgium (Y9 History although I decided not to take it). It cost about £100 and I went becasue we weren't going by plane. It was a good trip but the hotel was cheap (must be why the trip was £100) and they poured mushroom soup on all the food >:(

    However, French trip this year (February) = cancelled>:(

    Y6 = Wales = Ranch = Looking forward to it for several years = guess what

    CANCELLED >:(>:(>:(>:(>:(

    Because we only had like 2 days before we had to pay
    I still believe we should have had a school fete to pay for the rest but no, they start doing that after we moved up >:( Our school was atrocious

    I'm assuming there's a bit of exaggeration here but even the other poster who mentioned two months notice for a £200 trip, that simply isn't enough time for a lot of parents. My schools always gave plenty of notice and the trips are always well attended.
  • DMN1968DMN1968 Posts: 2,875
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    Spouthouse wrote: »
    To the people who are describing residential trips as a "rip off", how much do you think round the clock child care costs? Try getting a live in nanny for a week, adding to that the cost of food and lodgings, and see how much change you get from £1000. Most residential trips rely on the good will of teachers who give up their extra time completely free.

    The vast majority of the school trips I have helped on - only 1 or 2 teachers actually go - usually all of the classroom assistants that go, along with a number of parents to keep the child:adult ratios sensible. But few of the teachers.

    I am also appalled on these trips how little subject matter knowledge the teachers have. We went to Portsmouth on a geography field trip. Not one of the teachers knew what the large island the other side of the Solent was - one thought it was France! Also despite studying the Victorians, none were aware of Dickens association with Portsmouth. I saw no educational value from that trip.

    Also at the British Museum, none were aware that the Elgin Marbles were there (or even what they were!), despite the kids studying the ancient Greeks.
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