‘Only the privileged will go’ says single mother as she fears child missing out on a school trip £1,850 for South Africa A single mother has criticised her daughter’s school after it asked families to pay £1,850 for a trip to South […]

A single mother has criticised her daughter’s school after it asked families to pay £1,850 for a trip to South Africa.

Louise Worrell, from Croydon, South London claims Woodcote High School staff only revealed plans of the trip just four weeks ago.

Worrell fears her 13-year-old daughter Nevaeh will be left out because the payment needs to be made by next February.

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‘It is really unfair’

Speaking to The Mirror, she said that the children were already excited about the 10-day trip next Easter.

The single mother said: “We were only told about the trip last month and they want the money by February.

“If I had longer to pay, I think I could have scraped the cash together – it is really unfair.

“I know other parents are struggling to pay and some are putting it on credit cards.”

She said to i “I feel like I have been put in an impossible position”.

Worrell said Nevaeh will not be going on the trip and she feels disappointed.

‘Only the privileged will go’

The 32-year-old said Woodcote is not a private school but a state school with a catchment area that includes a lot of children from poor or struggling families.

She said of the trip: “It is really divisive and excludes children from lower-income families – and only the privileged will go.”

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) found more than one-in-six parents said they were unable to allow their child to participate in an educational trip or visit in the past year due to costs of up to £3,000.

The survey of 4,000 parents revealed the problem was distressing for them and pupils.

Chris Keates, of the NASUWT, said: “Schools should ensure the activities they offer are inclusive. Trips to expensive and exotic locations will exclude large numbers of pupils.”

He added: “Access to educational opportunities should not be based on parents’ ability to pay.”

Worrell told i: “The teachers said it’s extra curricular so there will be no assistance with funding for the trip.”

Woodcote High School said its South Africa trips had been running since 2008 and had many educational benefits.