
Dear Parents/Carers
You are receiving this message as you have paid the requested deposit for the Germany trip. Thank you for paying promptly and allowing me to proceed with the trip planning.
I wanted to give you an update on where we are currently at in terms of the planning and preparation.
We now have submitted confirmation of numbers to the DfE who have approved our funding and made the necessary amendments (funding dependent on pupil numbers).
I am very pleased to say that the trip is now financially viable and as mentioned in the initial meeting, I will look at ways to further support the trip and reduce costs as much as possible for each family. Thank you to those parents who have already been able to help with this through contributions from their employers or through ideas for fundraising.
We will look at this and other ideas when we next meet.
I have been given approval from Bishop Bewick Trust to book flights, after negotiating a group deal with Eurowings. Hopefully, the flights will be booked on Monday. As this is a special group booking, they do not require any further individual details from you at this stage.
I have also identified some accommodation, which I think will work really well, in the city of Essen – around 30 minutes from the centre of Gelsenkirchen but with fantastic transport links. This will also allow the children to experience two neighbouring but very different cities. I have spoken to the owner who is excited at the prospect of hosting our group and has been extremely helpful in his communication.
This is a smaller accommodation, and although our current numbers do not allow me to book the whole venue for a sole booking, as this would increase the cost significantly – the layout of the accommodation will allow us to have our own space, away from any other guests. We will have the majority of the rooms booked and there is potential that the remaining rooms will not actually be taken (especially if they hear that there are a large group of Primary school pupils staying for the week!).
However, I will visit the accommodation in early December and ensure that it meets all safety requirements and will share all of the information with you, on my return.
I would like to invite you to a meeting on Tuesday 17th December where I will be able to share information around travel, accommodation and an updated itinerary. I will also be able to arrange the paperwork for travel documents and passports for those children who do not currently hold a valid British Passport.
In order for as many people to attend the meeting as possible, I am happy to host the meeting straight after school in person or at a later start time, virtually via Teams. I will send out a link nearer the time to see what the preference would be.
Thank you all again for your support and enthusiasm for the trip. I know it will be a fantastic experience creating memories for a lifetime.
Mr Kennedy
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