Center Parcs school holiday pricing is under scrutiny after a teacher spotted a huge leap in the cost of a holiday at one of the resorts during February half term. Father of two Ian Addison posted: “Does anyone know when half-term is? Oh, don’t worry, I worked it out.”
The Y4 teacher, from Hampshire, shared a picture of the Center Parcs booking page for Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire. Four nights in a two-bedroom woodland lodge from Monday, February 10 costs £429 and four nights from Monday, February 24 costs £599.
But, four nights from Monday, February 17 costs an eye-watering £1,449 – around £1,000 more than the weeks either side. This is the week the schools are closed for the half term holiday. When BirminghamLive checked the Center Parcs website, we found exactly the same prices.
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Ian’s post has already received around 200 comments, 7,000 likes and 400 shares from parents across the UK, with one tagging in Center Parcs, asking ‘care to explain?’ Another said: “£500 per night to stay in a shed?”
A third added: “Utter madness! Yesterday we tried booking for the February, & May half terms, and we’re priced out of both.” Others raised the issue of whether it was worth taking their children out of school and paying the fine: “Cheaper to take kids of school and pay the fine.”
New rules are in place this academic year regarding taking children out of school during term time. Birmingham City Council has warned parents that penalties will increase from £120 to £160 if paid within 28 days, and from £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days.
Families who take kids on holiday in term time will only be able to pay fines twice in a rolling three-year period – and could be prosecuted if it happens for a third time.
One dad came up with an alternative suggestion and that was to look at Center Parcs holidays in Europe instead, as he said they could work out cheaper: “Go to centerparcs in Europe. We did it for years. It is significantly cheaper. Very much the same facilities.”