The parent of pupil at a Welsh secondary school has shared their shock and frustration at the extortionate price of a school trip being offered to students in certain year groups. Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr, an 11-18 bilingual school in Gowerton in Swansea, is planning to take pupils currently in years nine, 10, and 11 to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in October 2024 on a week-long PE department "sports tour" at a cost of £2,300 to £2,550 per child.
While an exact itinerary has not been shared yet the school says it plans on offering opportunities for the students to play rugby, football, netball, and cricket during the course of the sports tour. It's understood the trip is being offered to students in years nine to 11 as school staff felt these were the year groups that had most missed out on school enrichment activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Staff at the school say they have arranged this trip after being approached by several parents who wanted to see trips abroad return following a hiatus during the pandemic. They said this option was the most cost-effective offered by the company they wish to use and emphasised that the price has not yet been finalised.
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Staff in the PE department have sent a short letter to parents and guardians of pupils in years nine, 10, and 11 to give them brief information about the planned trip and to invite them to a parents' evening at the school on Thursday, January 26, for more details. The letter, which has also been shared on the school's Twitter account, reads: "We are writing to inform you that the physical education department is arranging a sports tour to Dubai and Abu Dhabi from October 24 to 31, 2024. We will be aiming to play rugby, football, netball, and cricket on the tour. The cost of the tour is £2,300 to £2,550 (max) depending on the proposed itinerary of the travel company/kit purchased. We will be offering this trip to the current year nine, 10 and 11 pupils. Pupils will only be allowed to attend this tour if they are on the register at Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr in October 2024.
"We are very eager to ensure that this opportunity is available to every suitable pupil and consequently there will be a parents evening with PE staff and Edwin Doran Sports Tours on Thursday, January 26, in the school canteen at 5pm where further information will be shared."
One parent of a pupil in year nine said they were initially impressed at the idea of the trip until they heard the price. "All sounds good until you find out that the trip will cost parents £2,500," the parent said. "And the best part of this is that it is in Abu Dhabi – how on Earth can they say that this trip is for all pupils? Why Abu Dhabi at this cost?"
The parent said they were further disappointed at the price as it comes when everyone is feeling the "dramatic" effects of the cost of living crisis. They added that they'd spoken to several other parents of children in year nine and "they seem to all have the same opinions and disappointment as us".
What did the school say?
Defending the price of the trip a spokesman for Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr said: "The cost of the optional sports tour in the school holidays, which would be open to year nine, 10, and 11 pupils, has not been finalised and is something we are talking to parents about. The cost was very much at the forefront of our minds, particularly at this time, and working with a company we have used very successfully in the past. We discounted other destinations such as Canada and South Africa as the estimated cost would be far greater.
"We have not run such trips since the start of the pandemic but we have been approached by several parents asking for their return hence why the school has offered this sports tour. If there is not enough interest then the sports tour will not proceed."
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