When the teen started middle school three years ago, he came home excitedly one day clutching a letter about a sports tour school trip to Spain. It was a rugby and netball tour which wasn’t going to take place until a year later but he was desperate to go. It was quite a lot of money but we knew it would be the most amazing experience for him. When it finally arrived, he had the best time. The experience of visiting a new country with a group of friends was incredible and he made the most of every opportunity.
As the trip runs every two years, this year was the turn of his younger brother. They are very different and I have to admit that whilst I agreed with my husband that it was important to allow the children to access the same opportunities, I wasn’t convinced that the trip was right for my younger son. He isn’t as confident as his brother, he likes being at home around his family. I was torn. Pushing him outside his comfort zones is a good thing and I knew it would be such a great opportunity so we signed him up.
In some ways, having a year to prepare is a good thing. In others, it is not. My son has had days when he has talked excitedly about the trip and others when made it all too clear that he did not want to go. We have talked about it a lot, especially over the last few weeks, trying to get him prepared for the trip. As it approached, he had relaxed about the whole thing and was starting to really look forward to it. A couple of his friends were also going and he couldn’t wait.
Cue Monday morning a couple of weeks ago and we are on the final countdown. We were running late for school and I hadn’t seen the news. I get a text out of the blue saying that the school were trying to find another carrier for the trip and would give us more information later. I was at a loss. I had no idea what the message meant and was worried, with the trip being two weeks away.
I messaged my husband who said that the flights must have been booked with Monarch. Still none the wiser, I searched Google and quickly realised what was going on. What a nightmare so close to the trip. Later on that morning, a message came from school to say that there would be an emergency meeting to discuss the options. At least there were options but I was concerned. My son was devastated. He does have a tendency to see the negative side of things and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the trip would be cancelled and that was it.
The meeting was interesting. I must admit that I was expecting it to be cancelled. With the chaos of so many flights being cancelled, what was the likelihood of being able to book over 60 seats at such short notice? However, amazingly they had. There would be a slight change in the leaving and returning times and flights would be from Bristol rather than Birmingham, they had worked with the tour operator all day to try and sort it. However, all parents needed to agree and it had to be cleared by county and the seats wouldn’t be around for long. I was holding my breath waiting for the extra cost but no, no extra charge.
Two days later, the text came through to say that sadly the flights couldn’t be held. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, organising a trip is an ever increasingly huge responsibility and understandably, there are a lot of things to check before you can go ahead and book everything. In the end, the decision was made that the trip would be postponed at best and depending on how many parents agreed to the alternative date offered, the worst outcome would be a cancellation.
My son was understandably disappointed. In his little world, he doesn’t always see the bigger picture and he was cross with the school. I tried to explain to him that he was lucky to still be going and some schools would have just cancelled the trip and that would be the end of it.
It does seem like the sad demise of Monarch has been dealt with really well but I know quite a few families who have been affected by both that and recent problems with Ryanair and it is so distressing to find your family holiday has been cancelled at short notice. I know I would be devastated and even though the Spain trip was a worry, it wasn’t us that was organising it and we would get a refund if it didn’t happen. If you have been affected by any of the recent problems or any other flight issues such as delays or cancelled flights, it is reassuring to know that there is somewhere to turn to for help, Flight Delay Claims 4 U can help you claim compensation for delays, diversions and cancellations. Click here to find out more.
As it stands, we are still waiting for confirmation but it looks increasingly likely that the trip will happen in the summer term next year and I am really grateful for the teachers organising the trip as this must have been a real nightmare for them. I’m hopeful that he will still get to go and he will be a few months older and maybe wiser before he goes which won’t be a bad thing.
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What a nightmare! After he’d come to terms with it, how horrible to have that uncertainty. I really hope it goes ahead.
I can only imagine the disappointment that the pupils, teachers and of course your son had to face. My son went on a school trip last week, and I think he would have been devastated if it was cancelled so close to going. Glad the trip will still be going ahead next year, but you just don’t think about the effects it had on people with the collapse of Monarch x