For many parents, bringing up children on a low income is a challenge.

The so called "deep learning week" presents our children with opportunities do things outside the normal day to day experience of school.

There has been a steady increase in the number of elite options where parents have to pay hundreds of pounds per child for prestige trips to foreign countries or expensive UK activity centres. Whilst these opportunities are undoubtedly exciting for the children, they can be literally impossible to pay for.

Many of us have gone into debt to make sure our children are not excluded.

The 2017 options have just been published. There are 6 options, of which only one is based mainly in the college. Even this option costs £50. The other options range in cost from £290 - £490 per child. There is not a single free option.

For those of us who have more than one child to consider, the cost of "deep learning week" can easily run to over £900.

Thurston Community College should adopt an inclusive approach to "deep learning week".

There should be an equal or greater number of free and affordable options which should be designed to have an appeal (like the current Rock School option) allowing the children to choose without fear of the stigma attached to the "poor-family" options.

UPDATE:

We received a response saying that a free option would be added and that an email to that effect would be sent out to notify parents of this.

Adding a "poor family" option misses the point. When pressed, TCC refused to say whether they would do more than this.