A mother has hit out after disappointed children were sent home early from a long-awaited school trip to Llangrannog when they fell ill. Year five pupils from Ysgol y Castell in Caerphilly were meant to stay for five days from Monday to Friday, May 19 at the activity centre run by the Urdd.
The mother, who does not want to be named, claimed there was no hand soap in the basins and bathrooms near the children’s rooms and the swimming pool water was dirty and “cloudy”. She drove down on Thursday to pick up her son and bring him home after he caught what she said was a stomach bug going around.
The Urdd confirmed the Ysgol y Castell five-day visit was cut short early and said it has referred the matter to the local council environmental health department. It added refunds will be given for days missed, and stressed the centre implements a "very high standards of cleanliness".
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But the mother, who had a four-hour round trip to get her son early when he fell sick on Wednesday, said: "The children have been talking about the trip and looking forward to it since last September and it was cut short. They haven’t had the experience they were supposed to,” she said.
“By Wednesday I was told about 10 children had been sent home, because they were ill. On Thursday they were all sent home 24-hours early. I had to drive down the day before on the Wednesday to pick up my son, because he was ill. It was a four hour round trip and he was so disappointed.
“My child is very upset. They only did a couple of activities before people started being sent home.
“He said here was no hand soap in the basins by their rooms but hand soap wasn’t on the list of things for them to take and after Covid you’d expect they would have it. It’s basic hygiene. We paid £230 for the five day trip. We’ve not heard anything from the school about a refund.”
The Urdd said in a statement: “We can confirm that a member of staff and some pupils from Ysgol y Castell were ill during their visit to Llangrannog Residential Centre. All children who had their visit cut short will receive a refund for the days lost.
“To comply with our processes the Urdd have informed the local environmental health department. We implement very high standards of cleanliness at the Llangrannog Centre and carry out regular cleaning processes and checks.”
Making a statement on behalf of the school, Caerphilly Council said: "This was unfortunate for the children involved and we wish them a speedy recovery, but we wouldn’t want to speculate on the cause. The school is in discussions with the venue about possible refund arrangements."
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