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Original poster

Public bus to secondary

30 replies

Jumpering · 14/06/2023 20:56

My DD is due to start secondary in September and is turning 11 at the end of August. To get there she will need to get a public bus. It’s a 30-40 minute journey with a 5 minute walk at either end. The 5 minute walk at the school end is a busy town centre which can be slightly rough. My main concern is that the bus arrives half an hour before school starts and leaves 45 minutes after school ends. Is she going to be capable of this or do I have to drive her? I’m torn between letting her have some independence and going nuts with worry!

OP posts:
Highfivemum · 15/06/2023 07:35

With such a long bus journey is there not a school bus ? Or are you sending her to a school out of catchment area etc ? She is still young and I think I would be tempted u til she finds her feet and hopefully meets fellow students on the route to take her. I would take her the first term and see how it goes. Maybe start the bus the second term.

redskytwonight · 15/06/2023 07:30

Only you know if your daughter is capable but that doesn't sound an unreasonable journey for a Year 7 student. Start practicing!

Larpi · 15/06/2023 01:00

I have to say it doesn't sound ideal to me, with the awkward gaps between transport, though admittedly I'm speaking as a London parent that expects buses to run every 10 mins. I'm sure your DD would be capable of getting the bus and walking through the town (all secondary kids do that in London) but relying on a single bus and having to wait around for it in the morning and afternoon isn't ideal. Will she have anywhere to wait in the 30 mins before school starts - she probably won't be allowed on site? Is there a breakfast club, or would she be waiting around on the street (potentially in the rain) for the gate to open?
How long would it be until the next bus, if she can't get on the afternoon bus, say if she was staying after school for an hour? And a 45 min wait is quite long in the winter when it gets dark before they get out of school.How reliable is the bus service - if that bus doesn't run for any reason, it would presumably be a long wait until the next one? Would you be available to come to pick her up if the bus lets her down, or would you be in work?

Lcb123 · 14/06/2023 21:06

Sounds fine to me. Can she stay at school and do homework to fill some of that gap after school? Or do an after school club

Riverlee · 14/06/2023 21:00

Sounds pretty standard to me.

Do some dry runs over the holidays. Get her to buy the ticket, read bus timetables (probably on her phone), and have a plan b for if the bus is late or doesn’t turn up.

She won’t be the only kid on the bus, so if it is late, then all the other school kids will be late as well. The schools are used to this.