Thoughts on 9 year old going abroad on school trip ?

I went to grammar school with loads of RAF kids as we lived near two huge bases.

They remembered very little about their earlier time living in many different countries.

Primrose53

Something just made me look at travel advice on Govt website and for Greece it says in bold “terrorists are likely to carry out attacks in Greece.” It says they can happen in areas frequented by foreigners.

As Joseann says above incidents are very rare but parents do need to be aware.

If people agree for their kids of 9 to go to places which have warnings like that then that’s their choice but we all know from shootings in several countries that there are some crazy people out there.

Wether or not a child should go abroad with school is a parenting decision. Not a grandparents. Especially one who is anxious.

That aside, there is no reason to scare her with the idea of terrorists in Greece. Australia, the US, and Canada all warn of terrorism in the UK, and “exercise normal caution” for Greece. Based on that advice I’d say Greece was far safer than the UK trips so many are advising.

travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/UnitedKingdom.html

travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/greece-travel-advisory.html

travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-kingdom

travel.gc.ca/destinations/greece

www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/united-kingdom

www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/greece

Just a thought, are you paying for the trip Drina01? In that case the school might allow you to ask a few questions to settle your mind. Like if grandparents pay school fees they are allowed conversations around that subject. (Independent sector.)

All my GC are now in secondary schools and during all their time in primary education no overseas holidays were ever planned by those schools - yes, they had short breaks at various locations in the UK that were relevant to the school curriculum but never abroad.

I doubt that my AC would have agreed for them to travel abroad with their schools either.

My sons both went away with school and so did my granddaughter who is now 12 she started boarding school when she was 8 both parents are in the military she goes everywhere with her school and she is always buzzing when she gets home with all the places she has been to and what her and her friends did etc. unfortunately like life she has to grow up she can’t stop in the garden all her life she has to experience things. My lads were brought up in the military life and have been to so many places when we came back to uk lots of kids hadn’t even left the town I think it’s sad you not to want her to enrich her life. It’s called growing up and learning them to be independent. Yes it’s normal to be nervous everyone is because the baby is growing up.

Coming rather late to this thread - my granddaughter went to France with school for a week when she was ten. She enjoyed it very much.

I'm a grandmother of 5. If my children, their parents thought it was ok then I'm with them all the way!
I went to Switzerland at aged 9 with school. It made me some lovely memories.
My Daughter went to Barcelona with school she was 12, maybe 12 is a better age.
Children are held back far too much nowadays imo. Resulting in kids lacking independence & character. Yes it's all character building.

It’s not your role to allow or forbid such a trip. We sent our son off on trips with his choir, but we leave him and d-in-law to decide what’s appropriate for their children.

Have you had any treatment for your anxiety? I didn’t realise I suffered from anxiety linked to depression, which I did know about. Anxiety is quite a burden to carry.

Mine never went abroad in primary school, sounds pretty expensive? Maybe the teachers fancied a free holiday. I don't think that all school trips are very interesting, unless they're real "adventure" holiday with lots of activities that you'd never do with them at home.
I don't blame you for worrying, the idea of looking after a whole group of schoolchildren in the water is risky, unless it's a very organised holiday run by a specialist company.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Maybe the teachers fancied a free holiday.

Have you ever been on a residential school trip?

I have, on many, and holiday is not what i would call them.

My 8 year old granddaughter went on an overnight school trip recently and loved it, but they were worried beforehand that she would change her mind at bedtime and were prepared to go and fetch her if necessary as it wasn't far away.
She and her sister have also been to very organised Brownie camps with a lot to keep them busy. I know that the Greece trip isn't happening now, but it does seem an odd choice for such young children.
My other 8 year old granddaughter is nowhere near going away on a trip, she found going on a sleepover pretty daunting!

eazybee

^Maybe the teachers fancied a free holiday.^

Have you ever been on a residential school trip?

I have, on many, and holiday is not what i would call them.

I think a lot depends on the company the school is travelling with. My children all went on activity holidays where the teachers really weren't needed during the day, they only saw the children in the evening and for meals if they were at the centre.
We used to have Italian teachers staying with us whilst their children were here for one or two week courses, staying with host families. They were not involved in the classes and only went with the children when they had a day out in London - and that WAS hard work. They were really only needed if a child was ill.

Schools have very strict guidelines about trips anywhere. They have to have the correct staff/pupil ratio, to have completed stringent risk assessments and usually use companies who are used to providing these services to accommodate the children. Of course, every now and then something goes awry but it is a very small percentage against the huge number of trips which are very successful and rewarding.
Whilst I see you might think that 9 is too young, I think it very much depends on the emotional maturity of the young person themselves. Regardless of what you think, it is her parents' prerogative to decide what is in the best interests of their child.

Personally I would say primary aged children should not go . Wait until they are at least 14 or 15. More in favour of activity holidays here in UK. Also hugely inflated prices for these trips are so difficult for parents to fund. Recently a friends daughter paid over two thousand pounds for a
6 night 7 day trip and items that won't be reused by her as will be outgrown. Their family holiday could not then be afforded and delayed until next year. . I understand completly that that was a choice they made but even so what will their 10 year old get from it , not value for money for sure.
Also teachers taking on the responsibility for a group of children 24/7 not for me thanks !

Joseann

Hmm it seems very strange to me to be taking 9 year olds on a school trip to Greece. Is it to Athens, as otherwise there would be no educational benefit? The school travel companies I know of don't offer such trips until Key Stage 4, so is the school organising their own?
Would need to know more information.

The educational value is great in that she will see another culture and how those people live. Different architecture, different food, different climate, different art etc. Seeing and experiencing these things will expand her life view generally and open her up to more possibilities in her later life.
What a fantastic opportunity.
I am quite sure the school will have things highly organised. I think they will be well aware of their responsibilities.
I think it’s quite natural to be a bit fearful but try and reign it in and see the positives if you can. Her parents seem to be ok with it.

I 100% know my daughter would not allow this trip nor would I, nor would my friends. Far too young far to soon. You have every right to worry. Busy airports, to many children to little staff.

Joseann

Hmm it seems very strange to me to be taking 9 year olds on a school trip to Greece. Is it to Athens, as otherwise there would be no educational benefit? The school travel companies I know of don't offer such trips until Key Stage 4, so is the school organising their own?
Would need to know more information.

Why would you think that only Athens affords appropriate educational benefit?
I recently holidayed in Crete where there were lots of school parties of all nationalities enjoying the culture and historic venues such as Knossos. Greece is full of interesting historic sites.

Is it to Athens, as otherwise there would be no educational benefit?
What about Olympia? Probably of more interest to a 9 year old who would have heard all about the Olympics.
What about looking at cultural differences, currency exchange, how the passport system works, different foods, the different alphabet, etc? Educational experiences happen all around us when you are that age and no less so than when you are abroad.

March

If the parents are ok with it and the child is excited to go, please don't ruin it by putting YOUR anxiety and worrying onto them.

You don't want her to go, not because she doesn't want to go, but to make you feel better and to stop your worrying even if she misses out on something she wants to do.

Agreed. Perfect answer.

Difficult one. Would expect staff ratios to be at least 1:8 with a spare….if they’ve had all child injections should be fine. I’d leave it to parents to decide, their prerogative to say yes or no. How long is the trip for? I went abroad on a cruise when I was 16, brilliant experience but then I was older.
As for walking home from school..depends on routes and hazards. I hid behind a tree watching the first few times.

Whilst I endorse trying to get children as independent as possible I think 9 years is a little too young for school trips abroad. Senior school by all means. My DGD2 started school last September only 3 days after she had turned 4. I thought she was too young especially as she’s so small for her age but she has coped admirably. I can’t imagine her at 9 going abroad without her parents though.

The school trips I went on were in residential establishments owned by local authorities, run by staff who handed control of the visit over to the teachers and who had to be paid for every activity they accompanied, and who to sleep in the building at night so if there was a fire the onus was on the school staff to evacuate the premises, after having been shown the procedure once. Unsurprisingly , most of them have closed or only cater for adults.
Plus entertaining the children in the evenings until bedtime, making them hot drinks, administering medicines, patrolling the corridors and of course, dealing with bed-wetting and worse, homesickness and nightmares. Supervising wash times, insisting on suitable clothing and footwear for walks, sorting out packed lunches ( I can't eat that), no time away from the children until you went to bed, and then returning home on Sunday night and being ignored by parents with not one word of thanks. No time off in lieu, so a 12 day week without a break.
The cost of taking children on commercial school trips is phenomenal; I have accompanied two, and I wouldn't trust the care of my children to some of the adults employed.
There is a liaison between some of the Academy Trusts and these commercial enterprises, as in school uniform packages.
Free holiday fro teachers!

My old primary school used to take us on Educational Cruises (B&I) which were a part of what P&O Cruises now is. That was 50 odd years ago and I still remember how exotic Madeira seemed with it's flower market etc... if the parents can afford it, she will get a lot out of it rather than spending 2 weeks in a spanish costa swimming pool, the trips have to have educational value and you don't want to see the amount of risk assessments that are done these days.

My late husband wouldn't allow foreign trips with school because he didn't trust the school to look after our kids responsibly. I wouldn't allow foreign jollies because not every child's family could afford to send them. What a way to demonstrate the difference between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' and throw it in their faces! Some families could afford to send the whole class, some comfortably afford to send their own child. I've known some get into debt to enable their child to go and then there are those who simply can't afford it. Let parents take their children on foreign holidays.