Shrewsbury mum in social media storm after criticising £800 cost of three-day school trip

Emma Mellor, from Shrewsbury, had posted about her dismay over the cost after receiving an e-mail from her eldest child's school.

The e-mail advertised an 'exciting humanities trip' to Krakow and Auschwitz – for £799, requesting the first instalment of £300 within 10 days.

Writing on Facebook, the 40-year-old, who runs her own mindfulness and wellbeing business, explained that she had written back to the school outlining her feelings over the offer.

In her reply she said: "If I had £800+ to spend on going away, I’d be putting it towards a trip for the whole family, not for one of my five children while the rest of us go without a holiday.

"These prices are utterly ridiculous for many families.

"I suppose the one per cent with plenty of throwaway income will gladly be on board."

Her post has since been viewed by close to 200,000 people, attracting hundreds of comments – mostly supportive, although some criticised the viewpoint, while others chimed in with outright trolling.

Emma said that she had not been seeking to start an argument but had just been left astounded at the request – and took to social media to vent.

The letter from the school had also flagged up opportunities for next year, and the year after, for trips that will cost around £1,200.

She said that for many families the costs would be too high, particularly given the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis.

She said she had been 'flabbergasted' at the letter, adding: "I thought it was a lot of money for three days and the fact they wanted £300 in 11 days' time is fairly unrealistic for a good many people."

She added: "I have been saving up for us to go on a holiday, granted a caravan holiday won't be the same as going away to Poland, but it would be a holiday for the whole family rather than one child going away for three days."

Emma did say she understood the benefits of such trips, but added that ultimately for many families it would come down to feasibility.

She said: "There is no doubt they are incredible opportunities, and there is no doubt the children who do go will learn a lot and have a wonderful time, there is no escaping that, but it is still okay to comment that the price of one child going away for three days being £800 is utterly ludicrous."

Emma said that the online response to her view had been "interesting to say the least", adding that it had only been a "general sort of rant" and that she had not been expecting the attention it has received.

She said: "The vast majority of comments are people in agreement with me that the expectations over trips are becoming unrealistic, and families do not have that kind of throw-away money – and it is getting more difficult with the cost of living rising.

"There are quite a trolls on there telling me not to complain about it but it was just a post on my Facebook profile, I was not looking for attention."

She added: "I really did not think anyone would be that interested."