[shygirl]

For "normal" school trips eg. a local castle ,

my sons annual primary school trip was to the movies!! - i could never understand this when we have so much around to see from harbours with sailing trips to castles and museums and safari parks. going to the movies just seems pointless.

[happygolucky]

Local natural history or history of the area would be more appealing for a cheap and educational school trip...even tours of the local sewer works or power statins if it were allowed!!

[HesterF]

£800 is just crazy! I'm on the PTA at school and we're raising money to extend the playground this year because the school can't afford it (or rather has more important things to pay for). We're selling raffle tickets in the run-up to the summer fete and I was bemoaning the slow sales to the school secretary the other day (was hoping each family could manage to sell 10 tickets at a £1 each to whoever they chose - I've been round all the neighbours and most have bought a ticket or two) and she was explaining that some of the older kids (yr 5 & 6) have school trips coming up which are costing them £25 and that was probably stretching them. My own boys are in yrs 1 & 2 and have a trip to the seaside as their end of school year outing (we live about 8 miles from the sea anyway) which will cost a voluntary £5. Their other trip this term will be a free pilgrimage from their school on foot to the local church. We live in the 'affluent' South East.

When I was at school, the only big trips were certainly voluntary - I know my secondary school did ski trips by bus but I never went on them (parents logic was that I'd never ski as an adult so it was a waste of money - how ironic that I then spent ten years as an adult living in Sweden and Switzerland so did lean as an adult). I never felt left out because it was certainly a minority that went. I seem to think there were other trips too but the only ones that the whole class went on were to study/field centres which were normally local and council run. My biggest ever trip was to Devon when I was in primary school and we took the train. One boy who was desperately poor came in to say his family had said he couldn't go and I just remember the teacher being so sorry for him she started crying and then paid for him herself.

[Lesley Silvester]

My middle one wanted to go on a camp organised by one of the local churches. As it was run by volunteers and they 'camped' in a local school, the cost was kept to a minimum. Nevertheless, it was more than we could afford living as we did at below the poverty line. He begged and pleaded and said he would pay for himself - the cost and some pocket money. We agreed that, if he saved enough, we would pay for the transport to the pick up point. This was quite expensive as we lived on an island so it meant a ferry crossing for him and a parent, then train fares but we decided that if he could make the effort we could help. He asked for money for birthday and Christmas presents and every penny went towards the holiday. Most of his pocket money was saved and he did odd jobs to earn extra.

He loved every minute and went three years running.

[plumseverywhere]

Here's a classic.....the Wales activity trip that we decided our eldest could go on for sure? well its when she's in yr7 and to be just under £400 (!) and t'boot, yr 6 are going same time!! so thats my eldest 2 children, one trip, same time, nearly £800 - oh bum.

[colliewobbles]

For "normal" school trips eg. a local castle ,

my sons annual primary school trip was to the movies!! - i could never understand this when we have so much around to see from harbours with sailing trips to castles and museums and safari parks. going to the movies just seems pointless.

Depends what the movie was really - it could have been one that they wouldn't normally see and that supported/enhanced what they were doing in the curriculum.

[colliewobbles]

One of the very best trips I did was for 6th formers, a group got together and organised a trip to N Wales where they could stay cheaply in one of the youth hostels, they all had to work out a time table, plan meals, trips, share the cost of transport and they invited myself and a male teacher who just happened to be the double of  Clint Eastwood, the students had to look after us and pay for our food and activities, it was super....I thought the best bit was having a  hot bath and being shouted to come out for my evening meal, cooked by a trainee chef......all I had to do was drive the mini  bus, I do still have my licence but never use it now!!!
Most staff have to be on the ball and it certainly is not easy and yes, been to many a casualty with a pupil and saved the day in many other ways..

I love this - sounds very much like a Duke of Edinburgh expedition trip - I can honestly say that, having done loads of trips, the DofE ones are always the cheapest and ALWAYS seem to provide the best experiences and memories.

I just had an absolutely lovely thank you letter from one of my DofE students - on the front is a watercolour of a country scene that she has painted and inside the loveliest thank you message saying what a wonderful time she had.  And that's for the 2 trips (Suffolk and Derbyshire) that cost £120 in total!

I think that some teachers are being rather unimaginative.  But I also suspect that in these days of litigation many teachers are going for the safe option of an organised trip provider which provides extra safeguards.  It also reduces the workload of arranging a trip quite substantially.  Everything I do for DofE is done in my own time with no extra payments - that's months of training outside school hours plus 3 weekends and 1 week away every year.  And the arranging and risk assessing of sending kids into open countryside can be a bit mind-blowing!!  None of this can be in school time as the activities have to be in students own time to qualify for the award.

Donna

[shygirl]

For "normal" school trips eg. a local castle ,

my sons annual primary school trip was to the movies!! - i could never understand this when we have so much around to see from harbours with sailing trips to castles and museums and safari parks. going to the movies just seems pointless.

Depends what the movie was really - it could have been one that they wouldn't normally see and that supported/enhanced what they were doing in the curriculum.

ice age 2 if i remember right. the whole school go together every year. personally i think its a bit lazy. id rather they went somewhere like arbroath or cullen and learnt how to make smokies or cullen skink or something, so that they will remember the day forever. there are loads of fab castles within a stones throw, ski slopes, sailing etc so movies just doesnt cut it for me.
 

[colliewobbles]

I am inclined to agree Shygirl - is it done a reward trip?  That's the only thing I can think of.

For our reward trip for the Maths dept. we take a group to the Red Arrows base in Lincolnshire - of course it is also a reward for staff - men in RAf uniforms