Parenthood isn't cheap, we all know that. Bit I pity the parents whose kids came home from a school in West Yorkshire this week with letters about an upcoming school trip.
To Barbados.
Which would set parents back a cool £1,650.
(And to think I moaned about having to fork out for a new pair of school trousers this late in the summer term...)
The Guardian reports:
"Parents of children attending Horsforth school in Leeds who received the letter notifying them of the island trip said it put pressure on them to find the cash or to say no. They called the trip “ridiculous” and “unfair”. The letter, sent from the school’s PE department, said pupils from years eight, nine and 10 could stay for seven nights half-board at the Butterfly Beach hotel in the south of the island, according to the BBC. Sports students would play in three fixtures with local teams and would be given “traditional evening entertainment”, a catamaran cruise, the option of going to a water park, and a special sports tour kit, the letter said."
The school defended the cost of the trip, saying it should be considered in the context of many more affordable trips also being organised for pupils. But parents have already taken to the school's Facebook page to voice their disapproval of the pricy trip.
One parent wrote:
"If you can't afford or don't want to pay then just say that to your child. What's the issue? Children learn they cannot have everything. If they kick off then this reflects on their upbringing."
I'd have let my kid go on one condition: I get to tag along as a parent helper. He'd either have begged not to go to avoid the shame, or I'd have got seven nights in Barbados on the cheap. Win-win.
What's your view? How would you react to the prospect of being asked to pay this much for a school trip for your child? Join the debate over on our Facebook page.
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