Holiday with the school

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Grandma70 totally disagree with you about school trips/holidays being educational. I would say they are just giving the children to experience something, an activity or culture for example that they would not experience otherwise. Families are just as good, if not better, at providing this sort of holiday.

My grammar school in the late-1960s/early-1970s did cruises on the SS Nevasa. I've no idea how much they were, and I really don't know if my parents could have afforded it had they wanted me to go. I was the youngest of three, by some margin, and was told the others didn't go away with school so I needn't think I was going to.

I did go on day trips to London Zoo, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, possibly with primary school.

Sorry, just seen how lengthy my post is, got carried away!

I think this is very wrong, as not many can afford this sort of expense, which would pay for a holiday elsewhere for the whole family. Air travel is a major promoter of climate change too, so air travel should be avoided. Or there won't be any world to travel.
(No, I'm not a killjoy but these things need to be thought about now, not regretted later.)

Sparkly1000 I went on a cruise in the mid 60s, on the SS Nevasa

I was wondering if anybody on here had been on Nevasa! Being on board her was an 'experience' on its own, wasn't it?!!

SS Nevasa was originally a troopship and was somewhat lacking in facilities and comfort, to say the least. Definitely not what would normally be expected for a cruise!

We did the longer cruise, which was never repeated as a cruise only. We spent about three weeks on board and only a few days visiting various islands (Madeira, Barbados, Trinidad, Antigua and Guadeloupe, and Lisbon in Portugal was our final stop before cruising home). Sounds very exotic, but I could write a book on what it was really like! I believe that subsequent trips were flying one way and cruising the other way so that it reduced the time on board.

Our on board experiences included stowaways from the islands, a nighttime funeral at sea of a crew member who died en route, backflow of loos due to 'turbulent' seas, all portholes locked shut and no-one being allowed on deck because of gale force winds . . . . . Oh, and the obligatory sea sickness of most dormitories on the way out and then the 'tummy bug' on the way home!! If one didn't get you then the other one did!

Having said all that, it was very educational in many ways, not just in the school sense. As a lot of us were spoilt grammar school and private school girls, we witnessed first hand how the other half lived - the crew and the islanders. We also learned pdq that we had to do our own laundry, no DMs on board! In fact, the first shock was having to carry our suitcases and bags down the ladder steps to our dormitories - no porters to help! We were down in the bowels of the ship and were the first level to have portholes. One of our local schools was allocated to the deck below - no portholes for them!

There were daily lectures about the various islands on board.

We did learn a lot from the island visits, as well, all the obvious things such as different cultures, living standards, history of the islands etc etc. It also allowed us to act like proper adults and show responsibility for our own safety and welfare of others. This was put to the test on a few occasions. Some failed and, on one occasion, paid the heavy price of being stomach pumped on board - over-indulgence in absinth drinking, through not realising what they were drinking.

Looking back, (from a safe time distance!) it was worth going, and genuinely was educational on so many levels.

I seem to recall that it cost £100, payable monthly. Pocket money was limited, but I can't remember how much.

I think £3000 is a ludicrous amount for India. We have been twice and only spent that for two people! Loved it.
Only went to York on a school trip but I always remember it as it was such fun. Dgd went to New York and Washington on a school trip. Very expensive but fortunately they could afford it, though many others couldn't.

Ah, yes! Oberammagau for the Passion of Christ play! Two days of solid German, and all I understood was Pontius Pilate saying something like "Ich Vash Mine Hands" or something! Plus Rome and Venice, also with the school. What a hoot, 72 convent schoolgirls in a crocodile, in full school uniform, boaters et al, to a hotel, where the owners' son had told all his friends we were coming. The friends turned up in their cars trying to drag several girls into their cars on arrival! Poor nuns, trying to haul us all back out again! Shades of St Trinians!!!!!

The girls at the school where I worked went on trips to places like Australia, The Gambia and Russia, of course it is a private school.

All I’m trying to say is that the trips with school that I am familiar with are just a different aspect of school in another place. They are NOT ‘holidays’.

No-one I know would dream of taking a child out of school for a holiday with family.

Of course in the school and LA’s eyes all trips whether skiing, cruises, India, activity holidays etc. will always be educational if they are through the school at hugely inflated prices. But a family couldn’t possibly do the same educational trip could they?

Actually you make a good point Barmeyoldbat if for example my DGD’s school was running a skiing trip ( again for example) during term time, what can be wrong in her taking a family skiing trip instead ? Complete double standards !

An activity holiday in the lakes during term time with the school is no different to an activity holiday in the lakes during term time with family .

I don’t know how long this exchange can go on, gillybob! No, I wasn’t talking about days out. If you’d read my earlier posts I described a school residential trip to Derbyshire when I was at junior school, and there was also a trip to Austria, not skiing, which I didn’t go on because I was ill.That was when I older, but still the 1950s. It was to improve our German (I did A-level German) and purely educational, not a holiday..

I also said that my father took kids on educational school trips to France, but I can’t remember whether they were in term time or not. Believe me, it was not a holiday or a rest for him!

My gd whilst living with us wanted to go on the school holiday, skiing in France, cost over £1000 and this was in a Primary School and was for 5 days. Pressure was on us to let her go but we stood firm. And said no. Instead we took her out of school that week, tagged on a half term break and another week out of school. Took her backpacking for 3 weeks to SE Asia at a cost of £500 and she loved it. I feel these school trips are a rip off and what’s wrong with a 5 day break say in Wales or the Lake District doing activities?

I was at GS from 1958 & had a wonderful Geography teacher who was a great advocate of fieldwork. We did a short trip to Milton on Sea in the 2nd year, 5 days to the Peak District in the 3rd year and a week near Aberfeldy in Perthshire in the 4th year. The time was spent doing land use surveys, settlement studies and geog/geology related walks. I loved them & still have my project books. We never had family holidays so these opened my eyes to a wider world. They also developed independence as we were dropped off in pairs at different sites and left to get on with our surveys. I knocked on doors of all kinds in Aberfeldy, including the distillery to do my survey. Needless to say I studied Geog at Uni, became a Geography teacher & introduced field trips to my first school. I couldn’t believe the Head of Dept had never ever led one.

I went on a month's exchange visit to France. It cost £20 for the flight and nothing else because we stayed with a family and returned the favour. In the same year the school put on a skiing trip to Switzerland which was more expensive and for just a week; my parents rightly said they couldn't afford both and the exchange was better value for money! In the 6th form I went on a Geography field trip to the Isle of Wight, which was great fun and very memorable.
When DD2 was in 6th form she was given the chance to apply for a place on an Outward Bound trip to South Africa. She had to give a presentation about how she would raise money towards her fare. She described how she would organise a prize draw and give half to charity and luckily won her place. She contacted local companies and got a few donations but nothing very exciting.
However as luck would have it a local Hot Air Balloon company made an unscheduled landing on the school playing field without permission. In return for the school not making a fuss, they donated a free balloon flight! This was donated to my daughter for the draw, which meant she was able to raise a large portion of the funds needed, as well as a sizeable charitable donation. We put some towards it and the rest she saved from her evening/Saturday job in Tesco.
She always says that that trip was one of the best things she ever did, making her more self-reliant and changing her outlook on life.

The school trips to exotic places make me wonder if they are for the education/holiday of the children, or for the teachers to have a rest in a nice location! !

Skiing in the USA?!! What’s wrong with Austria or Switzerland or France?

I think I would have been the one that broke her leg !

Oh I see, so you were talking about days out Grandma70s .

My 1960's (council estate) primary was similar then. We all went on the class trip (never very far or exciting as I recall) but we probably all contributed towards it.

My argument is an entirely different one. I was asking how it is okay for a school run holiday to be taken in term time without fining parents, apologies for confusion.