How long is your DC's journey to school?

I moved so my kids could walk to school (about 7 min). I am moving and the distance will be a 20 min walk or two buses or ten minute walk (or bus) to tube then 20 min on tube to sixth form depending on which school.

5 minute walk. Mine are the nearest house to school so I go through about a 2 loaves a day as nobody can possibly walk further than our house without stopping for a rest and some toast 😆

10 minute walk. It came down to two "good" schools, and after much thought we chose our catchment school. This was partly because DH and I both travelled about an hour door to door to secondary and didn't enjoy the time spent travelling.

7 minute walk.

It’s about a 20 minute walk. They can get buses but it’s easier at the moment to walk. Really glad we were able to choose schools without a long journey, plus it’s local so they can walk with friends which is nice. They weren’t the schools with the best Ofsteds but I think you have to look at the whole picture, now that DD is in GCSE year and gets a lot more homework/revision it’s good that she gets home in good time.

50 minute direct bus journey

We’d still choose the school again but the days are long - only one bus which means she has to be very organised in the mornings which does often involve a lot of chivying on!

She’s back by 5, 6 if she’s had a club. Homework is nightly. Honestly it can make for a long day and I think you do need to be convinced it’s the right school, if it’s marginal I’d go more local. Luckily one of her school friends lives in the next village and she’s kept in with Primary mates but otherwise it’s a different social experience for them than a very local comp.

Life 360 as well - you need to make sure they have decent data on their phone though and give them a charged up portable charger.

Private bus (£1k pa), 2 minutes to the bus stop, 50 minutes on it. I used to give DS a lift in a couple of days a week but I’m wfh now. It’s an early start five days a week but I don’t think I’ll be going back soon.

No tracking here
2 miles - can take tube and bus, 2 buses or bus and walk. Takes about 30 mins

Dd has a 20 minute walk in one direction. DS1 about 15 minutes in the other direction. Very lucky to be in position of having decent schools locally. DS1 will either go to ds1’s school or dd’s. Depends on which he prefers.

1.5 miles. 10 minutes by bus, 5 minutes by car, 30 minutes to walk.

15-20 minute drive (independent school, no bus). We did think about the lack of independence, but there are ups and downs. Nearest state options would have been same distance by bus, but because we're rural there'd only have been one bus home - so if DS was doing clubs etc we'd still have to pick up. Plus, friends have lots of issues in the morning with buses being late or full, and parents having to take anyway. But having to drive would be a pain if it didn't fit well with work.

Two minute walk. We could hardly live nearer.

When ds1 started we were maybe seven mins away. Both dh and I had long commutes on buses to secondary which brought friendship issues so we wanted to avoid that.

Ds2 is in sixth form now and can pop home with a couple of mates at lunchtime, plus he is home in the pm at 3.20, gets some work done then footy at 6pm. Spot on. A 45 min journey by bus and foot to the next village (which he considered for 6th) would see him home at 4.45 (later finish) so not great.

40 min drive

Pre-Covid DD took a bus but in reality it only cut the journey by around 10 minutes.

She now walks and it is around 35-45 minutes, faster on the way to school, longer coming home.

She started walking to school on her own in Y6, they need to learn the independence. She walks where around 1/2 the school walks plus commuters as she passes the train station so she is hardly walking all alone around dark alleyways.

We can ping her with “find my iPhone” but in two years secondary only needed it twice.

Pre-covid, 1 bus, about 30-45 min depending on traffic. Now he cycles (3 miles).

Dd changed schools at 10, 1 bus, 20 mins journey. I personally went 45 mins on foot to school (buses took longer)

ds gets a partially subsidised (£26/month) school bus at end of road, the bus takes

If direct, about a 30 minute walk, but she goes round to her mates houses first (only 5!) so more like an hour and they walk together. She gave up on the buses this term because they were so crowded with no chance of SD, but before the pandemic she would bus it straight there in about 15 minutes.

Will add that DD goes to a secondary without a catchment area so she's not the only child with a long commute, and she's not missing out of social life with everyone else just around the corner from each other.

We did have that a bit at primary, but she did after school club and we made the effort to go in for playdates/parties etc

Total of 1hr 30 each way:

8 minute walk to station
48 minutes on train
change platform
14 minutes on second train
4 minute walk to school

Even through we live rurally, DD has been commuting to school in London since Y1, so she's used to it.

I was slightly worried the first week about her doing the journey on her own, and I went with her on day 1. Now she's found other friends on the second train and to walk to the station with after school and she's fine.

I have Life360 tracker and Find My Phone.

She uses the train time to do all her homework (a lot to be said for having a decent chunk of time sat on one train) and they nearly all have free wifi nowadays.

Given where we live, there was no option that was a 10 minute walk round the corner - the nearest options either involved an hour on a bus, or a 15 minute train journey and 30 minute walk.

Y8 DD- 10mins bus and 10min walk. 45min walk if she wanted as it's about 2 miles.
We very nearly went with a school an hour away. So glad we didn't. Lots of kids go to the same bus stop and her friend gets off a stop before.

DD usually one bus, takes about 20 minutes but it's at 7:35am for a 9am start. Currently only enough provision for a quarter of those who need it so I'm driving every day, which takes 10 minutes but means she has to stand outside for 45 minutes so I can be at work. She walks home as no provision, takes over an hour.

DS two buses but he finds it easier to catch the first bus and walk 20 minutes at the end. Leaves at 8am for a 9am start. He's home well before 4pm.

10 minutes to station, 20 minute train, school bus 5 minutes the other side or walk up hill 15 minutes. So 35-45 minutes. I think anything more than about 50 minutes can be too much. Most kids I know travel to school and use the journey to socialise. They really don't mind it. Sometimes they do last minute homework on the train etc. However, in addition to time you really need to factor in cost. Many people get stung by that.

My yr8 and yr11 have a 30 minute walk.

There's no bus that goes directly from near home to near school. I also think the walk is good for them as neither are very sporty.

They refuse to walk together though. And I don't track them.

Both mine have long journeys to school - we live in a big city and the local schools are poor.

In his first year ds got one school bus, taking about 45/50 mins. That was fine and he adapted quickly, but it was very expensive and he hated the inconvenience of having to get a particular bus (it went from the girls grammar). He wanted flexibility to stay at school to play football and to go on public transport with his friends - which was 2 buses or a bus and train or a tram and train. He did that for year 8 and half of year 9 but found the change, waiting for the second bus, really hard and tiring. Now I drive straight to the second bus in the morning (10 mins) and pick him up from there and it’s made all the difference (bus journey is still around 45/50 mins).

So I wouldn’t go for a two stage journey, too tiring and they’re often late too. My daughter also travels 45/50 mins on the train and she’s had no problems. Both travel with friends (or rather, they made travel-buddies by happening to go on the same bus/train) which makes the journey fun social time.