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Original poster

Taking tube to secondary school

64 replies

Avala2019 · 25/06/2019 23:08

Wanted to hear from parents whose kids take the tube to school from year 7. Considering a school in central London but the main drawback is that it is in central London and so DS, 11, would need to get a very busy train to work. The journey in itself is very short (35 minutes door to door) but the main issue is a packed tube station, packed tube where DS could get crushed, then packed station the other end. Not really what I want for him at 11.

OP posts:
Unshriven · 26/06/2019 09:19

That sort of journey is the norm for kids in London.

The underground is full of kids brandishing their Zip cards.

His classmates will probably be onn the same tube.

Original poster
Avala2019 · 26/06/2019 09:11

This would be for a private school (obviously!) and we don't live in central London but in zone 3 so DS would need to commute into the centre of town to go to school. The school in question is a lot better than our local state secondary but the question is whether it's worth the commute. The journey is short but always packed, both tube stations are very very busy. Not sure I can put him through that which would mean he goes to worse school to save him the commute.

OP posts:
stucknoue · 26/06/2019 07:57

It's a reality of choosing to live in central London. Plenty of kids take packed transport, you should see the buses here, they are only every 30 mins so the one arriving 10 mins before school starts (2300 pupils at the school!) is a tad busy you could say...

Epanoui · 26/06/2019 07:39

DD goes on the tube and gets a train about 7.45. She usually gets a seat.

WantLifeToBeBetter · 26/06/2019 07:34

The London secondary school children I see walking to the tube station in the morning go to school around 7.30. This is, I think, before the tubes are packed.

This very much depends on the tube line!

Tingface · 26/06/2019 07:31

Londoners have had to do this forever. It’s not brilliant but it’s not a big deal either.

JammyDodgersandPeas · 26/06/2019 07:29

DH did it for years and never had any problems - despite leaving a bag on a station platform in the City in the mid 90s, which he got in serious trouble for!

DreamingofSunshine · 26/06/2019 07:26

@potteringalong it could be private?

DH did this sort of commute from age 11, he found it fine. He said it prepared him well for commuting and made him feel independent.

AnotherNewt · 26/06/2019 07:22

PotteringAlong

It'll be private sector and I'm guessing Northern Line to CLSB

PotteringAlong · 26/06/2019 07:18

Also, there are posts on mumsnet all the time about how you can’t get into a school in London unless you live in the playground of the school itself. How is he attending a school a 35 min train ride away?

PotteringAlong · 26/06/2019 07:17

*Not really what I want for him at 11.i

Then send him to a different school.

SquirmOfEels · 26/06/2019 07:15

One of DS's friends did this. A parent worked in the same area and commuted with him in the mornings when he first started. And he was also fine on Tubes right from the off. It's a very easy form of transport.

But it's still a bit grim to be shoehorning yourself into a packed Tube in the morning. If it's a less busy commute, it's fine - you'll see loads of secondary pupils on Tubes and suburban trains. It's very normal.

But if you wouldn't fancy the commute for any reason (over crowding, unreliability) then do think twice about whether you should be putting your DC through it.

Teddybear45 · 25/06/2019 23:52

Depends what time they go to school. The kids that take the Northern Line through Zone 1-2 tend to do so around 7:30ish. You often have school kids with commuters and that combination tends to work well as younger kids are offered seats and older kids often like to stand near the windows with the seasoned commuters. After 8:30 and the trains also get busy with tourists and that’s when there’s a problem with crushes etc because a lot of tourists don’t really care.

BusyLondonMother · 25/06/2019 23:48

The London secondary school children I see walking to the tube station in the morning go to school around 7.30. This is, I think, before the tubes are packed.