School’s out – for educational trips!

• LITERACY campaigns such as “Get London Reading” must be regarded with some degree of scepticism, I think. 

For instance, I am staggered by the number of days that modern schoolchildren spend out of the classroom, the number of school trips enjoyed, coupled with the amount of holidays including the half-term breaks.

The other day I witnessed a group of children and their minders taking over a whole train on a trip to the seaside.

On asking why this was taking place in school time, I was informed that the trip was “educational”.

And who is bearing the expense of all this? 

And this is just one example. 

I have seen them at racecourses, cricket grounds, etcetera, again in term time. 

Presumably these trips are also thought “educational”. 

What are the teachers doing while these kids are out of school? 

We ought to consider the vast amounts of taxpayers’ cash the education system swallows up.

I WALKER
Dalgarno Gardens, W10 

Published: 22 July, 2011