Holiday with the school

Well, if you think so, Barmeyoldbat. Presumably school trips vary. Families certainly do.

Well, I went on one trip at secondary school to France and it made a big impression on me. Being on the ferry and seeing the white cliffs of Dover but it was mainly the food that wowed me. Rolls and homemade greengage jam for breakfast and one place we stopped made us omelettes.
The Chateaux were beautiful. We were about 13 years at the time. I went on to do AL French and lived for a while in Switzerland.
Expensive skiing trips are a luxury but many families can't afford the sort of experience that a school trip offers and I think it built my sense of independence and adventure.

My only trip was in Junior school, to Colomendy School Camp, near Mold in North Wales. It was quite cheap, but my parents could ill-afford it. They scraped together a little spending money to last me for the week. When we arrived I was horrified to find that we were expected to pay for an outing. I was left with virtually nothing to spend, which was mortifying for a shy little girl like me. I didn't let on, and pretended that I didn't want to buy anything.
We lived in Nissan huts. Very basic. That was my first, and last, holiday until I took myself away at the age of 18.

I do think part of the educational value of school camps or holidays is for children to cope with being away from their parents. This is what makes it different from a family holiday.

The Educational value is being away from their parents ? Really ?

My parents were prepared to pay the £40 for me to go on an educational cruise around the Med, but only a handful of parents could afford it so none of us went. I gather from others whose schools had richer pupils it was a good trip!