Pupils at a school in South Bristol have been left devastated after a ski trip was cancelled less than 24 hours before they were due to leave due to the travel company's booking mistake. Some 60 students from St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School in Hengrove were set to leave for a ski trip in Italy on Saturday (April 1), but Halsbury Travel Group was forced to cancel the holiday on Friday afternoon (March 31).
A parent of a pupil at the school said the students were left in tears after the last-minute cancellation after the company did not book the bus due to a clerical error. No replacement bus was available due to high demand during the school holidays.
In a letter to parents and guardians seen by BristolLive, the travel group apologised unreservedly after "the booking was incorrectly marked as confirmed" due to "personnel changes". St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School is not the only school that has been affected, with another school in Devon also reporting a last-minute cancellation for its ski trip to Italy.
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A spokesperson from Halsbury Travel Group said: “Due to an administrative error, some coach bookings had not been confirmed by us and we were forced to cancel a small number of school trips at short notice. Our team worked tirelessly to try to find alternative means of transport, but this proved unsuccessful.
“We have been providing school trips for more than 40 years and this is the first time we have had to cancel under such circumstances. We are very sorry to have disappointed those who have been affected and we are doing everything possible to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
“All customers will receive a 100 per cent refund and additional compensation, as well as discounts on future bookings. The money will be paid in full into the bank accounts of affected schools prior to the Easter weekend holiday.”
Mum Alison Birkett said: "I think we all feel as parents the kids have had a tough three years with lockdown and everyone has worked hard to get this ski trip together, to then be told at the 11th hour that Halsbury Travel hadn't booked the bus is brutal. I know parents have saved long and hard to send their kids away and to be given this news is just awful.
"The school are not to blame they believed in the travel company and teachers have worked hard to get this ski trip booked. No one expected this!"
Students at Chulmleigh College in Devon also had their school trip cancelled at the last minute by Halsbury Travel Group. Parents were told the day before they were due to travel that there had been a problem with the booking of the coaches and the trip to Sestriere in Italy had to be called off, DevonLive reports.
BristolLive has approached St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School for comment.
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