Is it too much to let a child travel 50 minutes to school?

I wouldn’t want that for my dc.
For us they’d be doing it in the dark for a good part of the year, in soggy rugby kit a couple of times a week, and getting home that late would affect their ability to participate in some of their out of school activities.
What are the housing options like closer to the school?

That's way too long. Too tiring. It's important for them to get home and dry at a reasonable hour. Those secondary school days are long and tiring, especially as the years pass and studies get more demanding.
DS1 is in year 13 and his secondary/Sixth Form is about a 10-15 minute commute by bus/bike, half-hour walk home. Things have happened over the years and I'm really glad he's been able to get home quickly during more urgent times. Above all, after an exhausting day (especially as he hit years 11, 12, & 13), he can just get home quickly and unwind, take a breather, then crack on with studies. Public transport is not a 'breather' or a 'rest'.

Consider all the factors taken together.

If, overall, the school is worth it, then the commute is not too long. If not, then it really is too long.

Also, your child will develop and grow. Over time, it will not seem as long or as inconvenient.

It’s fine if the trains and buses are frequent and reliable but if the connection is a bus that only turns up every hour then it becomes a stressful commute

I don’t know a single child that walks to their high school.

Perfectly normal, my teen dd takes two buses to school , it takes her 45/50 minutes.

My dd had a similar length bus ride to secondary school. I thought that our local school would have been easier but she preferred one of the schools in the next town. She was absolutely fine with it. Plenty of children from our town choose that school and the commute seems to be a bit of a social occasion.

Given public transport may well still be in chaos by September I'd say way too long (too long even in normal times)

My children spent nearly an hour getting to school (independent) using school transport which was fine. On a Saturday we had to collect them which would sometimes mean two journeys to and fro school if one was involved in a match and the other wasn't. Also beer in mind that if they are travelling for that long from one direction it is likely that their friends will be travelling that far from the other direction. I have never driven as many miles in a year as when they were at school.

Is the school worth it?

Lots of people on here will tell you their children do it and it's fine.

I also had a similar commute as a child. I hated it. My parents would have said it was fine. But it would have massively improved my life in every way, if I hadn't had to do it.

Are the perceived benefits of the school really worth your child spending so much time on travel (compared to going to a local school)? Or would that time be better spent doing something else (even if the something else is just being less tired all the time).

I used to do an hour each way to school but it was pretty much door to door by bus, so not unbearable. I think it's the get to the train station, then the train, then the bus - too many stages to the journey and opportunity for delays. I wouldn't want to do it myself and I wouldn't want my child doing it. I would live closer.

It is pretty usual here in London it appears. DD in year 7 had an hour on the bus this year. This being said, it has been source of anxiety, especially during the first term. It was tiresome for her. I can see the massive difference now in lockdown.
Then I suppose students gradually get used to it over the months and years. Good luck.

Oh god wrong thread ffs

I have bubble yoghurts

Dh had an hour commute to school.
He hated it.
Both of ours had a maximum 15 minute walk. Luckily the schools are excellent. If they weren’t a commute would have been necessary.

I take it you don’t live rurally?
Where I live, it’s incredibly common for an hours commute to school both ways.
My son is in college now, but at secondary school he left on the bus at 7.15am and arrived at 8.20am. Then on the way home he left school at 3.20pm and got to our town bus stop at 4.30pm.

The majority of kids here do the same.

Think that's pretty normal for independent schools. I know at mine people had to travel an hour on the train alone into the city and then walk up to the school. My journey was about 20 minutes on the bus and a 10 minute walk, that was pretty standard.

having had dc do this - I wouldn't choose it if you had options....

1. its tiring - dc now get school bus which is less stressful - but trains unreliable and even earlier start to make sure on time! - if was a london tube journey tehn not an issue but see point 2...
2. they get up hideously early- this is getting harder as get older

even though love school we are probably not going to stay for a level partly due to this...luckily we have quite a few schools that werent an option at 11 that maybe possible for 6th form...

I woudl try and move closer -

My DD does this to sixth form and it is a pain, though she's only ever lived 5 mins from a school before, so it's quite a difference. Also can be an issue about having local friends. I lived a distance away from my secondary school and feeling left out when people met up because they all lived in the town and I was out in a village was crap.

If things go according to our plan, the child is expected to study at an independent school at Year 7

The child is an odd way to refer to your son

So 2 hours a day commuting. That’s a lot. Even an adult would find that tiring. Also you have to remember that’s two hours a day he won’t be studying/doing extra curricular stuff. I wouldn’t personally make that choice.

I totally agree. Far too long.

So 2 hours a day commuting. That’s a lot. Even an adult would find that tiring. Also you have to remember that’s two hours a day he won’t be studying/doing extra curricular stuff. I wouldn’t personally make that choice.

45-50 minutes will be fine. He won't be the only one and will probably get to know others on the same route. If trains and buses are delayed are cancelled, the school will understand that, it happens. I probably spent about 45 minutes going to school after age eleven and never thought anything of it.

What are the connections like? If the train is 5-10 mins late, are there still bus connections? What are the connections like if he stays late for clubs/detentions? Are there alternatives?

Time isn’t the only thing to consider, a 50 minute journey with no changes, regular services and sensible alternatives in case of delay/cancellation is a different prospect tk say a 30 minute journey that relies on one particular connection and which falls apart with the slightest delay or change.

It's not too long. Is there's a solid back-up plan? What about cycling for any of the journey? Lift share with other parents?