To be horrified ....

It's a state school thatbags and DGC is in second year. She admitted that they rarely use the IPads for school work! I should have thought iPads were only necessary for the last couple of years at school by which time the youngsters could save up for them from paper rounds or Saturday jobs. At 12 they are too young to work. I think iPads would be really useful for university.

My DD's all went on a couple of trips during their school careers. The departments in their school all seemed to be vying for the biggest and the best trip and trying to out do each other for the furthest/most dangerous/most exciting destinations. After the older 2 had left school DD3 used to hide the information sheets at the bottom of her school bag 'because it's not fair to keep giving them to you Mum'. Her last trip was to India, but she had to raise all the funds herself over a period of 18 months and when they got there, they worked in a school in the Himalayas, building paths and walls. She returned to India the following year once she had left school because it had such a marked effect on her, so it was definitely a positive experience. I don't know how most parents can afford to support all these trips these days

That is a huge amount, even for families where both parents work: often budgets are tight. I'd have hoped that a local theatre might put on a "school" performance, during the school day, and fill the theatre with kids for a tenner a seat.

That was a good way to do it, Gracesmum. I've a feeling we did something similar.

Teachers SHOULD go free if they are arranging a trip on behalf of the school. It is largely for the benefit of the kids, and isn't a holiday for the teacher, even if it is in an exotic place - the responsibility and organisation is huge.

Isn"t it true that if the teachers organise these trips , they go free !!

used to be anyway !

On a flight to San Francisco there was a large group of children (approx 14-year olds) from a state school in south Wales - their itinerary was SF, LA and Las Vegas!

Obviously not a compulsory part of the curriculum but it must have cost a small fortune.

So much for "free" education. I was acutely aware of the "extras" when I taught in our local comprehensive, but to be fair it appeared that the majority of parents had no problems with the huge number of ski trips/exchanges/PGL activity holidays/outings the kids seemed to enjoy.

I remember telling ours at the outset of their time at secondary school that they could have ONE "big" trip in their entire school career - DD1 went on a hockey lacrosse trip to Australia (that was a biggy but GPs helped and she took a job to contribute too) , DD2 went on a French exchange and DD3 went on a History trip to Berlin. And that was that. No parent likes saying NO but sometimes you just have to!

I presume that if the students lose or damage their tablet they have to supply themselves with a new one.

Some universities give their students ipads. Saves having to hand out paper lecture notes, course instructions, etc. They just do everything online.

Is it a state school, lizg?

No offer of subsidy I am afraid. It is the same school which insists on the children having iPads when they join. I think they live in cloud cuckoo land.

If I remember rightly, if the trip was part of the curriculum then parents wer invited to contribute to the cost. If they did not or could not then the cost was borne by the school. There was always the 'threat' on the 'invitation' letter that if insufficient people 'wanted' to go (ie paid up) then the trip would be cancelled.
£40 is way over the top ! Must have been organised by a teacher with no children !

Not just parents on benefits Liz, also those on limited incomes.

£40 is the food budget for some families.

The parents were asked for £40? That's crazy. As a school governor I would never have sanctioned that.

That does seem excessive, was it a subsidised trip?