School slammed for spending £10,000 sending pupils on 'stress-busting' Spanish jaunts

The school in Merseyside has admitted to spending more than £10,000 a year on taking its students on jaunts to the Costa del Sol.

Litherland High School claims the £250 per-head trips are a good investment and a price worth paying for the benefits derived.

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Defence: Headteacher Jim McDonnelly insists that £10,000 is a small price to pay for the perceived results

But the Taxpayers Alliance blasted the school for using education cash to fund holidays, insisting that the money could be put to better use.

Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance Matthew Elliott, said: "There are certainly serious problems in the way the education system works. The exam system does cause people problems, but this is a bizarre kind of solution.

"This money could be spent to much greater effect on school facilities, teachers or books that would be of lasting value to pupils.

"If the school can spare so much money for these trips, perhaps it should consider giving it to other schools that struggle to make ends meet."

Accompanied by a "life coach" the lucky pupils get to stay for three days at a youth hostel near Benalmadena on Spain's Costa del Sol.

Defending the annual breaks, the school headteacher Mr Jim Donnelly claimed £10,000 was a small price to pay for the perceived results.

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Regarded: OFSTED described the school as outstanding

Mr Donnelly said: "Anyone who criticises the scheme does not understand what we are doing and certainly has not seen the results.

"We are described by OFSTED as outstanding and we feel we are when it comes to the way we treat our students.

"We see our pupils as the future of the country so to invest in them in the way we do is exactly what the country needs.

"A great deal of money nationwide is spent addressing problems with truancy and troubled pupils.

"But we feel we get better results from everyone by investing in those who are hard-working and dedicated.

"The group of 40 students who go away on our fast-track break to Spain all manage to take the Spanish GCSE a year early and the majority end up with an A*.

"The country needs the sort of students we are producing and £250 a head is a good investment.

"The money comes out of the school budget which we prioritise very well. The trips consist of intensive language training in the morning and the afternoon is spent putting their lessons into practice.

"A life coach is there to help build confidence and to help take the stress out of exams. We also run trips funded by the British Council to places including China, Hong Kong, and France.

"The overall GCSE exam results are fantastic and prove that our methods work."