Furious single mother sends her son’s teachers an angry email over ‘utterly ridiculous’ cost of school trip to Poland
- Emma Mellor, 40, from Shrewsbury was stunned when she noticed the price
- The three-night trip offered by her son’s school would set her back a hefty £799
- READ MORE: Five million school days are lost due to trips away during term-time
A single mother has revealed how she wrote a furious note to her son’s school over the eye-watering cost of a school trip.
Emma Mellor, 40, from Shropshire, learned that the three-night trip to Krakow, Poland, offered by her 11-year-old son’s school would cost an eye-watering £799.
But the cost would not stop there because the price tag only included two evening meals, meaning parents would have to fork more money to pay for extra food on the trip.
The large fee covered return flights, a coach transfer to Manchester airport, a three-night stay in a Krakow hotel and excursions, including a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The mother-of-five was told for her child to attend the trip she would have to quickly cough up a non-refundable £300 deposit to the school, just 11 days after receiving the initial email.
Emma Mellor, 40, from Shropshire was shocked when she spotted the price of her 11-year-old son’s trip to Krakow, Poland
The three-night trip has a £799 price tag and parents must pay a non-refundable £300 deposit to the school, just 11 days after receiving the initial email
The excursion was emailed out to parents as an exciting opportunity, but Emma said the price puts it out of reach for many families.
Emma said: ‘I was shocked when I saw that it was £800 for three nights.’
‘For this sort of money [£799], we could go on a nice family holiday in a caravan for five days or we could splash out and go on a weekend away, all six of us, to Centre Parcs.’
‘I would rather spend my money on doing something for the whole family.’
‘I’ve got an older child who is currently in year 10 and I remember he went on a trip to Berlin last year or the year before and it only cost him £275.’
‘The trip only says two evening meals and it doesn’t say anything about other food so I imagine they [the children] will need more money for other meals.’
Flabbergasted at the cost, the self-employed wellbeing business owner fired off a spicy reply slamming the price and rejecting the offer.
Emma’s email reply to the school read: ‘If I had £800+ to spend on going away, I’d be putting it towards a trip for the whole family, not for one of my five children while the rest of us go without a holiday.’
‘These prices are utterly ridiculous for many families.’
‘I suppose the 1% with plenty of throwaway income will gladly be on board.’
Emma said that even if her son wanted to go on the trip, it’s off-limits due to the unaffordable price tag
Despite Emma’s son not mentioning wanting to go on the trip, she said it would not be an option because they cannot afford the excursion with four other children to consider.
Emma believes she isn’t the only parent in this position and said some parents would have to sacrifice their own holidays to afford for their children to go on the trip.
Emma said: ‘This is not so much of a complaint against the school, it is more of being shocked by the price of the trip.’
‘It’s really sparked some interesting discussion of more and more people not being able to afford the school trips as they are becoming more expensive and out of reach.’
‘People are having to go without a holiday or work even more hours if that is even possible to be able to fund them and it’s unrealistic expectations.’
‘With the cost of living rising at an incredible rate, people’s wages aren’t even matching this.’
‘I would imagine it would cost anywhere between £400 or £500 of extra money on top of the £799 for food, clothes for the trip, travel money, insurance and you want them to have a good time on the trip too.’
‘It isn’t just our school, people seem to be experiencing this at schools across the country.’
Emma also added that two other excursions were also advertised in the email that were even more expensive with a price of more than £1,000 per trip.
She said: ‘In the email they also made us aware that in 2024 there would be a trip that would cost around £1,200 and another one in 2025 for £1,200.’
‘The other trips on offer which were £1,200 were four- or five-night trips’
‘I don’t think they have booked these yet and by the time they do they could be even more money.’
The mum-of-five believes that she is not the only parent in this position and said that some families would have to give up their own holidays for their children to go on the trip
After being stunned by the cost of the Krakow trip, Emma took to Facebook to voice her concerns, and more than 300 comments were left from social media users agreeing with her.
Emma said: ‘I never thought this post would reach so many people.
‘I was surprised to see how many people were in the same boat and finding the trips beyond their means.’
One Facebook user said: ‘School trips can end up being a nightmare financially for many families. Schools need to be more realistic.’
Another commented: ‘My husband and I went to Krakow recently. I don’t think we spent that on the whole trip for the both of us.’
A third added: ‘I agree totally. I understand the great fun in going away with classmates but I would rather fund a family holiday.’
A fourth user said: ‘Totally agree with you! I won’t be sending either of mine on extortionate trips with school when we can holiday as a family. No guilt felt!’
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