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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Am I nuts to choose a school 10 min drive away?

57 replies

tvhearts · 16/12/2017 00:22

Well basically that is the question!!!

What are your thoughts I've looked at all the schools in my area and I definitely think it's the best! BUT, out of interest, in other peoples experience will the drive be more of a big deal then I'm expecting??

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MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 16/12/2017 00:25

Ten minutes? No. Most of the kids at my dds school live out of catchment. If we didn’t accept them our school would have shut years ago. It’s quite normal.

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isittheholidaysyet · 16/12/2017 00:33

We're rural, but mine is 10 to 15mins.
There is a school in our village, but we liked this one.
People drive a hell of a lot further than us though.

My only thought, though would be to do a practice drive at school drop off and pick up times, and park car and walk to school gate.
Is it definitely only 10mins?

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blibblibs · 16/12/2017 00:39

We do that journey everyday and in the morning double back on ourselves to get to work.
It's not bad at all but do check the journey out at the right time. Mine is halved when I have a later pick up with after school clubs.

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Ninjakittysmells · 16/12/2017 00:44

This is not even something that would be on my radar - our school is quite rural and we are 15/20 mins away, which is standard. 10 mins is nothing - what is your concern about it?!

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Ashara · 16/12/2017 00:53

Totally fine! We chose a school outside our village - if I don't leave early I can be stuck in traffic for ages. So we leave at least half an hour before school starts, park up and do reading.

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SteelyPip · 16/12/2017 00:59

My son's school is around a 15 minute drive off peak - which means I have to allow at least 30 minutes and then time to park and walk. I'm used to it now and it's part of the routine - but sometimes it does feel like all I do is drive to school and back. The time it bugs me the most is if I feel a bit ropey and know that other people manage to walk their kids to school and get back home in half an hour all done.

If you're happy with the school though, it's definitely worth doing.

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tvhearts · 16/12/2017 07:38

Ahh thanks so much for your replies!! My DS does a couple of mornings in the nursery class there so I've been doing it already, it's maximum 10 mins as it's rural. It's been fine but just wondering if when I'm doing it 5x a week it might be more of a pain. There are schools nearer and one I could even walk to but I just love this one. I do get comments from people "oh why do you go all the way over there?" which is annoying.

It's good to know other people do it and it's do-able so thanks xx

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Greenshoots1 · 16/12/2017 07:44

more important, how long does it take to walk?

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Sirzy · 16/12/2017 07:46

Just be careful if the school is a good one is it likely to be over subscribed? In which case you may not get in

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AuntLydia · 16/12/2017 07:49

I moved 10 minutes down the road from my kidd school and kept them there. Didn't even give it a second thought to be honest. Only issue I've found is, as they've got older, all their friends live over there and they can call round each others houses easily which can make my lot feel left out. Also, any after school clubs that are on for an hour are a right pain with siblings who finish normal time as it feels like I'm up and down the road constantly.

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underneaththeash · 16/12/2017 07:49

I worried about it too, in London we used to be a 2-3 minute walk from school, which moved to a 10 minute drive when we moved out.

It's really nothing, I was used to it within a couple of weeks and doesn't feel like a chore at all.

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MiaowTheCat · 16/12/2017 07:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tvhearts · 16/12/2017 07:58

Miaowthecat i agree!! Some people have such a Bee in their Bonnet about it

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tvhearts · 16/12/2017 07:59

Thanks everyone

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Greenshoots1 · 16/12/2017 08:19

I think walking to school gets overstated on here sometimes

how can it be "overstated" when unnecessary car journeys are causing lethal levels of pollution in our children's environment?

No one should be driving children to school, obviously if you are physically disabled that is a completely different situation, but for a normal, healthy parent to deliberately plan a school journey which includes driving as a normal day to day occurrence is morally wrong.

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theaveragewife · 16/12/2017 08:23

greenshoots

We now live 30 mins from school, but my work is 10 mins from school meaning I drop them off on the route I would do anyway. There are no buses from our location, what would you suggest I do? Work the fields?

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wednesdayswench · 16/12/2017 08:24

You will find this travel time is when your DS tells you all about his day, if you see this car trip every day as a positive (undivided time together, have a snack ready, maybe some of his favourite songs on) those 10 minute trips over the years will add up to hours of quality time together.

You will probably only question your choice in really bad weather, but those are pretty rare really. A small price to pay for attending a great school.

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theaveragewife · 16/12/2017 08:27

Yy snacks and a playlist help us - and a pillow for when dc are very tired!

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Allthecoolkids · 16/12/2017 08:32

“No one should be driving children to school,”

Ha. We live rurally.
Should I send them on horseback?
It’s just that the last time I did that the horses made a right mess of the cloakroom...

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Coloursthatweremyjoy · 16/12/2017 08:33

I drop two children at separate schools on my way to work. All in it takes half an hour. I don't even think about it. Like you I find other people are more worried! But I'd be driving to work anyway.

My husband drives for over an hour every day to work. My commute pales in comparison to that.

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tvhearts · 16/12/2017 08:39

Yes I think you're right, it becomes part of your routine and you get used to it. It is a fab school so like you say sure it will be worth it.

Haha yes other people do seem more concerned about it.

As for the ridiculous comment :eyeroll:

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Greenshoots1 · 16/12/2017 08:40

We now live 30 mins from school, but my work is 10 mins from school meaning I drop them off on the route I would do anyway. There are no buses from our location, what would you suggest I do? Work the fields?

Ha. We live rurally.
Should I send them on horseback?
It’s just that the last time I did that the horses made a right mess of the cloakroom...

people need to consider these things, when planning where to live/work etc. And need to think about public transport when considering who to vote for.

The world is being killed by wealthy first worlders who jump into their cars as a matter of course, as some sort of automatic entitlement.

Whether you like it or not, the age of private car ownership is drawing to a close, and the next generation won't have that option anyway,

but that is still some way off, in the meantime, irreparable damage could be done, and we are all responsible for not being so wildly profligate with everyone else's resources

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falange · 16/12/2017 08:44

Sorry, I don't understand how a ten minute drive would be a problem?

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MiaowTheCat · 16/12/2017 08:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MsJaneAusten · 16/12/2017 08:52

No one should be driving children to school, obviously if you are physically disabled that is a completely different situation, but for a normal, healthy parent to deliberately plan a school journey which includes driving as a normal day to day occurrence is morally wrong.

Erm, you know some people work, right? So planning a journey that involves driving is a necessity? Dropping their children off en route is a part of that journey.