Craziest School Commutes

[donthateonreig8te]

Hi.

I was wondering what is considered crazy in terms of a school commute?

I'm in South East London and I know kids that commute from Dulwich, Sydenham and Gipsy Hill to the following top Grammars and Faith schools-

Tiffin Schools (Surrey)
Wilson Grammar (Sutton)
St Phil's (Sutton)
Cardinal Vaughan (Chelsea)
John Fisher (Croydon)
Coloma (Croydon)
St Olave's (Orpington)

Equally bizarre are the journeys that SE22 kids make to private schools when you consider DC and Alleyn's are on one's door step-

-Whitgift (Croydon)
-Trinity (Croydon)
-Emanuel (Clapham)

[Clarita12345]

Hi there
My son commutes from Chesham grammar in Chesham to Hanger Lane in London...1,5hrs journey in the afternoon. Dad drops him off at Harrow on the hill in the mornings
They get used to the journey and it becomes easier as they grow good luck

[dippingbackin]

My DS does SW6 to Whitgift. Really straight forward on the train and journey pretty quick.

[OpalQuartz]

How long does it take for them to get to those places op?

[MrsMcColl]

I live in SE London too, and am delighted that the areas you mention have such good state schools. No crazy commutes here!

[grunty]

Cardinal Vaughan is actually in Holland Park (Kensington) and very near the Shepherds Bush Overground station which connects with trains from Clapham Junction so perhaps not as crazy as it sounds.

I sent my DD1 on a long commute of an hour + each day as at the time all the schools round here were shit and as she has SN I thought justifiably that she would be bullied and beaten up. Thankfully the local schools are now improved.

People have reasons to send their kids on long commutes not because they are "crazy" or snobs or other stupid reasons. It is easy to mock people, but try standing in their shoes.

[MrsMcColl]

People do it because they don't want their little darlings to mix with the 'wrong sort' of kids. Bright kids can do well in lots of different schools.

[cruikshank]

People do it because they don't want their little darlings to mix with the 'wrong sort' of kids.

^^
That, in a nutshell, is your answer.

You'll get lots of flannel about it though, but that's what they all mean.

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Can you give an idea of how long these commutes take for people who don't live in London and might not know?

[mymummademelistentoshitmusic]

Thank you cow. Maybe the title should be London Commutes. I had a long commute to school but wouldn't assume people know the area or the route.

[IAmAPaleontologist]

i have no idea what any of that means .

i went to a private school, it was a while half hour in rush hour.

My dcs go to a local school, in the next village just over a mile and easily walkable (except with work etc we sadly rarely do walk).

No a non londoner I'm afraid your op might as well be in a foreign language .

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Yes you're right mymummade, maybe the op only wanted answers from London people?

[MarshaBrady]

The SE22 ones - they might have applied and didn't get in. So have to commute.

I live nearby and private users are criss crossing everywhere as the schools select.

[dippingbackin]

The posts about not wanting our children to mix with the 'wrong sort' are utterly ridiculous and totally unfair. You know nothing about anyone elses circumstances.

[grunty]

Well in my case it was a choice of a local comp in special measures, or one just out of special measures. My daughter as a primary school student had been regularly spat at and kicked and even shoved down the stairs on a bus by some of the students from the latter so of course she didn't want to go. I had complained to the Head and he didn't want to know.

She was successful in the entrance exam for one of the super selectives without a catchment, so she went there. A very good school but the trade off was a long journey.

[medtem]

Have you attempted these journeys op? West dulwich to Orpington is a 20 minute straightforward train journey as is gipsy hill to sutton. How is that a crazy commute? On your other point, Trinity whitgift and Emmanuel are much easier to get a place compared to Alleyn's and DC, or bigger scholarships may be offered by those schools. Choosing the right school is not just about distance from home.

[elltee]

OP, around me (also SE London) I see plenty of children doing commutes of 45-60 mins to secondary school. At 7am as well as early commuters there are children waiting for trains both into and out of London, usually with a 20 minute walk at the other end, or waiting for a school bus to some of the SE22 schools you mention. Some for private, some for grammar or faith schools.

Really not sure what I think, especially as I had a 45 minute each way commute to secondary school and didn't love it.

[Takver]

45 mins to an hour would be perfectly normal in a rural area even for your catchment school - not because it's necessarily that far, but because the buses have to take a meandering route to collect pupils. So it doesn't seem that much of a hardship if you get a great school that is perfect for you into the bargain!

[Theas18]

Not london here but up to an hour here is normal for selective and non selective schools. I see kids walking to comps on my way to work pre 8am

[SonorousBip]

Hmm, distance is a bit misleading in London/Greater London, I think - its the ease of the commute and what may sound like a long journey may be really easy. For example Emanuel is v close to Clapham Jct and there must be loads of areas that sound a long way away but are only 20-25 mins on a regular train to there, without any changing needed, making it actually very accessible.

[Essexmum69]

Several children commute from North London to my DCs schools in Colchester. 1 hour on the train, 1/2 hour bus at Colchester end, plus however long it takes to get to get to Stratford/Liverpool street. They must be leaving home well before 7am. That is a crazy commute in my opinion, no school is that good!

[BrendaBlackhead]

I did a fairly long commute (1 hour each way) when I was at grammar school. I would never inflict that sort of journey on my dcs. It wasn't so bad in the mornings but I was bushed by the time I got home.

That being said, it depends on where you live. Chesham to Hanger Lane, Clarita? What's wrong with Challoner's or, I don't know what it's like now, Chesham Grammar?