Louis Browne KC successfully argues that PTRs apply for school ski trip
June 28, 2024
Louis Browne KC from Exchange Chambers has successfully argued that an international school trip is covered by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
The claimant, Team4, was a provider of organised ski trips for British schools in Austria.
The defendants were the governing bodies of two Lancashire schools, Governors of St John Fisher and St Thomas More Catholic High School (first defendant) and Holy Cross Catholic High School Governors (second defendant), which had contracted with Team4 to provide ski trips for their pupils. Louis Browne KC was instructed by Lancashire County Council for the defendants.
The claim by Team4 was for cancellation fees arising out of the termination of the contracts during the Covid pandemic. The schools defended the claims and counterclaimed for repayment of the deposits already paid to Team4 prior to cancellation.
It was the schools’ case that the contracts were governed by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (“the PTRs”) which entitled them to terminate the contracts under Regulation 12(7) of the PTRs and/or in the alternative, that Team4’s contractual terms requiring payment of cancellation fees amounted to penalty charges and/or in the alternative, the contracts were frustrated by the Covid pandemic.
The court was satisfied that both schools terminated their contracts under Regulation 12(7) of the PTRs and that they were entitled to do so at the relevant times. As a result, they were both entitled to a full refund of deposits paid within fourteen days of termination.
Said Louis Browne KC:
“This decision makes it clear that schools and other educational establishments that embark upon international activity trips with overnight stays are in principle protected by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
“As far as I am aware, it is also the first decision at Circuit Judge level addressing these issues. It therefore provides helpful and potentially authoritative guidance on the interpretation of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations in the education sector – although every case will turn on its own facts.”
Said Ivan Gaughan, Headteacher, Holy Cross Catholic High School:
“This is a crucial ruling for schools. Without the assurances provided by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, schools are placed in a position where they could incur financial losses through no fault of their own. This ruling effectively enables schools to confidently run trips abroad which are of significant benefit to children.”
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