Long-distance air travel from high schools appears to be coming to an end. In the context of sustainability, the Van Maerlantlyceum has cancelled air travel to distant countries. At the Stedelijk College and the Frits Philips, they have not yet reached the point where they are ruling out air travel completely.
“We are an eco-school and we involve our students in sustainable thinking, which includes stopping flying,” explains Alexia Dirksen, vice-principal of Van Maerlant. “We used to go to Rome, but we have now replaced that trip with Trier.”
“We saw that some of the students were disappointed, but we also saw a lot of understanding, including from the parents,” says the vice-principal.
Indonesia
Unlike the Van Maerlant, the Stedelijk College still has a long trip planned. Students from the school can look forward to a trip to Indonesia. Although that could easily be the last time. “We will indeed go to Indonesia one more time, but we will look for solutions. We are now discussing whether we should continue to do that.”
‘Don’t want to fly anymore’
“We want to train our students to become global citizens,” says van Drongelen. “But we are already trying to do as much as possible by bus and train. We don’t want to fly anymore.”
The same applies to Frits Philips. “You cannot tell your students how important it is to live sustainably and then take a plane yourself,” says director Martin van den Berg. “Now one group still goes to Rome by plane every year. I expect it will remain that way for the time being. But other activities, such as a trip to Tuscany for the drawing class, have been moved to the Netherlands.”
Financial reasons
The choice of whether or not to take the plane is also motivated by financial reasons, says Van den Berg. “Taking the plane to Rome is simply cheaper. The bus takes longer, but you also have to rent it for a week. Taking the plane and doing everything in Rome by public transport is cheaper. And if you want to spend a day outside the city, it is cheaper to rent a bus in Italy,” says the school leader.
Source: Studio040
Translate by Ayşenur Kuran
