The tragic accident reported in today’s papers of the coach carrying British children and accompanying adults going off the motorway stirred memories of school trips I have been involved in. Every such accident does and can even lead to nightmares.
I remember leading a trip to Paris where we travelled by coach. I suppose we should have realised at the start, when the driver complained mournfully that he wasn’t driving his “own motor”, that there might be problems. The coach he usually drove was off the road for repairs. We arrived safely at our hostel and the driver took the coach off to a safe car park. The following day he drove us into the centre of Paris, we arranged a pick-up point and set off to show the pupils Paris. Each adult was responsible for a small group of pupils, as is normal. It wasn’t the driver’s fault that when we got to the Eiffel Tower, one of my colleagues broke down in tears, begging me not to make her go up the tower. Just what you need – one adult short on the highest monument in Paris! The following day we set off to visit the castle at Rambouillet, because we knew Versailles was closed for repairs. The driver, still reminding us that this was not his “own motor”, insisted he knew the route I wanted him to take. When we passed the exit for Rambouillet and headed off towards Rouen, it took a lot of argument to persuade him we were on the wrong road and must turn round.On the last night of our stay the driver parked the coach on the street outside our hostel ready for a speedy departure. Of course a group of English girls had attracted a group of French admirers, hanging round the coach. So when the coach stopped suddenly on the motorway to Calais the next day and it was discovered that the handle to switch the fuel supply to the second tank had not been turned, the driver blamed the French lads for turning it back to the first tank position, though still with the “not own motor” motif in the background. French police arrived and coned off the coach while we kept our pupils on the grass verge. Not an enjoyable task, with traffic speeding past. Eventually the problem was solved and we were lucky to get on to a later ferry.
Nowadays I expect such an incident would lead to an inquiry about whether due health and safety diligence had been done. I notice that the coach driver is already being blamed for falling asleep in this latest accident. There will have to be an inquiry because of the death and injury. What a sad ending to the trip. I was lucky.
Boadicea's Chariot 
I have the greatest admiration for teachers who take pupils on school trips, Sheona, it sounds something of a nightmare even when things go well. It must be a dreadful responsibility.
We do seem to hear of quite a few instances of coach drivers falling asleep at the wheel, although, I suspect that most trips end safely. Tragic when they don’t though.
Arrers, yes. I have some experience of them. The feeling of ‘exposure’ among the accompanying teachers is palpable. Depending on the age of one’s charges, relatively minor incidents have to be dealt with – from boys buying knives as souvenirs to girls being conned out of their pocket money in shops. And explaining them to parents back home can be an added challenge. Happily I never had to deal with a tragedy like Sheona’s.
So sad. I must say the thought o a possible accident was squashed down in my mind when Scout was away int he Christmas holiday. I couldn’t let myself think about possibilities.
I have to admit to early onset of xenophobia. I refused to go to France when at school saving the parents both aggravation and money! I used to go to the YHA climbing instead in the UK, sod the Frogs!
The boy was always going somewhere and started off at age 9 going off to friends in the Middle East by himself. I never used to think about it, that way lead to madness! I think his first school trip was in the 6th form skiing, I gather they spent most of the time in the bars! I never enquired too closely, not worth the stomach lining!!
Retrospectively by current standards I was a very negligent parent, let the little sod get on with it. Just footed the bills.
By current standards, Christina? I bet your son didn’t start school still in nappies!
I think, speaking as a teacher and a parent, that one doesn’t think about possible accidents. If one did, no one would go anywhere or do anything. It’s only afterwards that I used to start thinking “what if?”
Janus, your mentioning being conned out of pocket-money in shops reminded me of another school trip to Paris, where one of my pupils, and not the best, who had just sat her GCSE French challenged the ice cream vendor who had short changed her. Well done, that girl!
When I think of it he probably was still in nappies, he went to a private school at 2 and a half, some Montessori outfit, they expelled him at 2 and three quarters!!!
I think he bashed some kid over sharing a toy, oops!!!! He just went mornings only.
Oh dear, I told you I was a negligent mother!
It is a very tragic incident, but a rarity, when you consider how many trips and exchanges go on all the time to France. That said, a lot of teachers consider that trips are barely worth it these days, owing to the paper work/bureaucracy, not to mention the potential for legal fallout if anything goes wrong.
Good to see you here BB 🙂
To bed and on the plane tomorrow…
Best wishes for a safe journey.
Safe Home Boadicea, I’m on the late flight from Philly to London on Wednesday.
Bon voyage, Boa!
Thanks, Boa. Safe journey…
I hope you have a peaceful, hassle-free flight, Boadicea.
You’re right, Bluebelle. I wouldn’t want to be doing school trips now.
Skool trips are ace – Saves teachers the faff of turning up in the classroom and akshully doing their job and pupils from learning anything.
Safe home, Boadicea, and do please get a grip on the Bear. 🙂
OZ
OZ, you are trying to wind me up, aren’t you? School trips, especially the exchange sort where pupils stay with the family of the exchange partner and go to school with them, are excellent for improving language skills and knowledge of the host country’s culture. There is no comparison between being in a classroom and trying to keep an eye on half a dozen teenagers in a busy city. But then, those who have never spent a day in a classroom as teachers are always the most expert!
Forgot to state that I cannot speak for the state sector, OZ, since I only taught in the independent sector. All school trips had to be in the holidays, since colleagues would not permit pupils to miss their lessons. This means that the teachers taking the trip also had to give up holiday time. Sometimes I might have been allowed a day or a half-day leeway, but only after serious discussion at a staff meeting.
Sheona, sweetie, would I ever try to wind you up? And thank you for calling me “most expert”. How did you know I’d never been a teacher?
OZ
@#16 “This means that the teachers taking the trip also had to give up holiday time.” Would that be out of the half-terms, the two weeks at Christmas, the three weeks at Easter or the couple of months in the summer?
OZ
Your estimate for the lengths of holiday are not for the independent sector, dear wolf. If in a boarding school you have a lot of pupils whose parents live abroad, the long holidays have to be long enough to justify the air fares and the half-terms are very short – like two days.