School pulls out of cruise

Some families are refusing to send children on the trip

The governors of a West Midlands school have decided to pull students out of a cruise to the eastern Mediterrean because of fears of reprisals over the bombing of Afghanistan.

The school tried to persuade the tour company to drop Egypt and Syria from the itinerary, but the firm refused.

Governors' secretary John Collins said the school was "very disappointed" that 25 pupils from King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham would not be joining the cruise.

About 600 schoolchildren from around the country are booked on the eight-day cruise to Greece, Syria and Egypt through the Sussex-based travel company Voyages of Discovery.

No refund

They are due to leave on Thursday evening but some concerned parents, who paid £900 each for the tickets, feel the trip should be cancelled.

They are worried the children may be at risk from terrorist attacks.

Why are we sending children into an extremely volatile and dangerous situation?

Andy Sutton, parent

But the company has not cancelled the cruise and parents say that if their children do not go, they will not get a refund.

Mr Collins said: "The governors felt it was not the right time to visit some of the destinations on the cruise."

"We thought about it long and hard, and our prime consideration has to be the safety of the students. We simply didn't want to take any risks."

Andy Sutton of Lincolnshire said he has decided that his 15-year-old daughter Lorna will also not be going on the trip.

Egypt is one destination of Voyages of Discovery

She was one of 30 pupils from the Kesteven and Grantham Girls School who had booked.

He told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "My main concern is that they are simply a soft target for some of these maniacs who seem to be spread across the Middle East in various terror cells.

"These people are sophisticated enough to put 20 hijackers in America. They know cruise ships go to the east Mediterranean.

"Why are we sending children into an extremely volatile and dangerous situation?"

'Terrorism threat'

Roger Langford of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands has also refused to send his child on the trip: "I was concerned even prior to the incidents in America because of the Palestinian suicide bombing."

But the travel company has said the safety of the passengers is "paramount".

"To avoid going to some of these countries would be to miss out on the educational element of the trip," a Voyages of Discovery spokesperson said.

The company, which has been operating cruises to the region for 18 years, said it has already dropped Israel and Lebanon from the itinerary.