Star of the Sea College, Camberwell High students lose $10k each after tour group collapse

Another 36 students are now $10k out of pocket after the private, catholic college became the second school to be affected by Edu School Tours going into liquidation.

Edu School Tours has gone into liquidation two weeks before Camberwell High students were due to go to the United States.

The collapse of a key Victorian Space Camp tour provider has left at least 60 private school students out of pocket by $10,000 each.

Students from Star of the Sea College, a Catholic girls school in Brighton, have been left stranded by the sudden liquidation of Edu School Tours, the Herald Sun can now reveal.

The school has told students: “Our assumption is that the college tour in April will not be proceeding”.

“This is devastating news for students and staff,” a letter to affected families said.

The company’s collapse has also affected 45 Camberwell High students who had also paid about $10,000 each to go on a trip to the United States in two weeks’ time.

The State Government has undertaken to cover the losses of government school students – including those at Camberwell High – but it is understood students from independent schools are not covered.

Shocked Star of the Sea staff told parents they haven’t received any notification about the liquidation from the company, which left students affected “visibly upset by the news”.

“We have offered some support today at lunchtime with the school counsellors for any student who would like to discuss the issues that this has raised,” the letter said.

A notice of liquidation for the company is not yet on the ASIC register but the school has contacted its insurance broker to understand the likely financial implications.

The trip allows children to build and launch a rocket, train to be an astronaut and fly jetcraft simulators.

One of the affected students is Ruby Kerger, a year 11 student at Star of the Sea, who said that in just 17 days she and 35 other students were ”scheduled to embark on a two week STEM focused trip to the United States, with another group of 33 students departing in September”.

“Every student involved is literally out of their minds,” Ruby told the Herald Sun.

“How is this legal? How could they do this to us?”

Ruby, like many of her peers, has been working two jobs for more than a year to help pay for the trip.

“It’s the reason my parents sent me to this school,” she said.

It is understood that at least two other private girls’ schools are affected by the company’s collapse. “Edu School Tours have not gotten back to us and we have travel insurance but we doubt it will cover this,” Ruby said.

“Our hope is that by highlighting our situation, we can prompt accountability from Edu School Tours and prevent other schools and students from falling victim to similar circumstances in the future,” she said.

It comes as hardworking students affected by the cancellation of their Space Camp trip will have their payments refunded by the state government.

Two schools have officially been affected by Edu School Tours going into liquidation. Picture: Facebook.

A Department of Education spokesman said the company’s liquidation “is concerning and disappointing news for the affected Camberwell High students and their families”.

But on Wednesday he said the trip was covered by the state government insurer the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA).

“The trip was insured with the VMIA (Victorian Managed Insurance Authority) and the Department will support the school, which will ensure there is no financial impact on families,” the spokesman said.

It’s expected that other schools will be impacted, including a number of private schools which are not be covered by the VMIA scheme.

Dozens of other schools in Victoria could be affected, with many private colleges running the popular program which takes children to the US to build and launch a rocket, train to be an astronaut and fly jetcraft simulators.

The program is run in conjunction with the US Space and Rocket Centre and the families only paid their final deposits last week.

There are a range of other tour companies offering the same trip to students from schools such as Koonung Secondary College, Loreto College Ballarat, Melbourne High, Eltham High, Camberwell Girls’ Grammar, Girton Grammar and St Aloysius College in North Melbourne.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said: “It’s absolutely devastating for parents and students to lose thousands of dollars due to EDU School Tours going into liquidation.

“Parents work incredibly hard to provide these opportunities for their children. And students have been working and saving for their trips.

“Given the extent of the impact across Victorian schools of Edu School Tours going into liquidation, we encourage the government to consider strengthening oversight of school camp and tours providers to avoid similar situations in the future.”

Dozens of Victorian schools could be affected by Edu School Tours’ closure.

One Camberwell High mother said her daughter had been “working and saving really hard for this”.

“It is devastating – she has been starting work early every Saturday and Sunday for a year and others have been even collecting cans — you can imagine the lengths they have gone to,” the mother said.

“They all missed out on camps and excursions during Covid so this was a big thing for her and all she’s been talking about for a year.”

Melbourne High principal Tony Mordini said his school ran a similar tour last year and the students “got a lot out of it”.

“It’s a significant program for the school and the only trip at our school that goes to the United States. This will be devastating for the kids,” he said.

Edu School Tours was founded and directed by Lucy Robertson, whose bio says “her contacts and relationships forged with past participating schools is second to none”.

“Edu School Tours maintain relationships and professional recommendations based on regular in-person meetings and consistent property/facility inspections to ensure all services and suppliers remain at the highest standard levels,” the company’s website says.

Ms Robertson was contacted for comment but is still yet to respond.