SCHOOL trips are an enjoyable part of growing up. From a short hop to a local seaside resort to a more adventurous journey abroad, they provide some of our fondest childhood memories.

All but a tiny proportion take place without incident but, occasionally, tragedy strikes and questions are asked in the full glare of massive publicity.

As an inquiry started yesterday into the death of 17-year-old Harrogate Grammar School student Alex Foulkes during a trekking expedition in the Italian Alps, a party of youngsters on a college outing were involved in a terrifying rescue off the North-East coast of England.

Thankfully, no lives were lost this time but, without the skills of the rescue teams, it could so easily have ended in further tragedy.

New Government guidelines were introduced after the deaths of two Leeds schoolgirls who were swept to their deaths during a river walking expedition in the Yorkshire Dales three years ago.

It would be wrong to prejudge the conclusions which will be drawn from the inquiries into the two incidents this week, but those guidelines must be constantly reviewed as new lessons are learned.

Our thoughts are with the family of Alex Foulkes and those caught up in yesterday's distressing rescue at Druridge Bay.

But they are also with teachers everywhere who accept the awesome responsibility of taking children on school trips.

Anyone who has ever raised a child knows that accidents happen all too easily.

If school trips are to continue to be a happy part of childhood, there must be an acceptance that mistakes will sometimes be made.

That is not to say that safety precautions should not go on being tightened, and that clear negligence should not go unpunished.

But we should never underestimate the pressures faced by teachers who place themselves in the firing line - and not be too swift to judge when things go wrong.