Q. My son goes into his final year at school this September and I would like him to be able to duck out of next summer’s leavers’ bonding trip. This seems to have become a compulsory fixture despite the school abdicating all responsibility for planning it to the inexperienced upper-sixth-formers. Some of this year’s leavers were physically attacked by gangs during their week on
a Spanish island and some had clearly joined in with all the degradation on offer and the attendant health risks. The parents tried to arrange an early evacuation but the boys insisted on toughing it out. The school claims this event is a worthwhile rite of passage but I fear the risks are not worth taking and wonder how you would advise my own son to avoid being peer-pressured into taking part.
— Name and address withheld
A.
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