01 April 2023 , 18:53
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School pupils excited to embark on a ski trip were left devastated - after finding out their booked hadn't been properly booked.
The trip to the Italian Alps was due to leave this weekend, but pupils at St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School in Bristol were left in tears after finding out it had to be cancelled at the last minute.
The school trip was axed on Friday afternoon after a clerical error when the travel company tried to book a bus, Bristol Live reports.
Sadly, the peak-time of the school holidays meant St Bernadette pupils couldn't rely on a replacement bus, meaning the holiday they'd been looking forward to for months couldn't go ahead.
Halsbury Travel Group apologised to school staff and pupils over the error, claiming "the booking was incorrectly marked as confirmed" due to "personnel changes".
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St Bernadette's pupils had been looking forward to the trip for months (Paul Gillis / Reach PLC)The school was not the only one to see their plans cancelled, either, with another school in Devon also reporting a last-minute cancellation for its ski trip to Italy.
Mum Alison Birkett said: "I think we all feel as parents the kids have had a tough three years with lockdown and everyone has worked hard to get this ski trip together, to then be told at the 11th hour that Halsbury Travel hadn't booked the bus is brutal.
"I know parents have saved long and hard to send their kids away and to be given this news is just awful.
"The school are not to blame they believed in the travel company and teachers have worked hard to get this ski trip booked. No one expected this!"
Students at Chulmleigh College in Devon also had their school trip cancelled at the last minute by the travel company.
Parents were told the day before they were due to travel that there had been a problem with the booking of the coaches and the trip to Sestriere in Italy had to be called off, DevonLive reports.
A spokesperson from Halsbury Travel Group said: "Due to an administrative error, some coach bookings had not been confirmed by us and we were forced to cancel a small number of school trips at short notice.
"Our team worked tirelessly to try to find alternative means of transport, but this proved unsuccessful.
"We have been providing school trips for more than 40 years and this is the first time we have had to cancel under such circumstances.
"We are very sorry to have disappointed those who have been affected and we are doing everything possible to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
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"All customers will receive a 100 per cent refund and additional compensation, as well as discounts on future bookings.
"The money will be paid in full into the bank accounts of affected schools prior to the Easter weekend holiday."