expect to walk 3 miles twice per day

My girls walk 4 miles in total (2 miles each way) but it’s all uphill in the way home…can be a lot when carrying books but if you have a flat route I think 2.7 is doable.

You need to look closely at the requirements - it may be your safe walking route is longer than the 3 miles or that the route is deemed not safe for walking ie no pavements or lighting on a stretch. We lived within the 2 miles for primary but had transport paid for as the route was country roads without lighting and not deemed safe for walking. The same applies for secondary although with the 3 mile rule for older kids.

Some counties will also provide transport if the child would have to walk less than 3 miles but on rural roads with no pavement, so I'd say it's worth checking.

What do older children do currently?

Maybe worth checking with your neighbours, our village road into the town is classed as unwalkable so the bus is funded.

Seems fine. My girls have just under that and they cycle. I strongly suggest (waterproof) panniers and don’t let them start an instrument that doesn’t fit in the pannier!!

Even if you think you meet the not very generous requirements you may not as LAs are adept at finding a technicality that means they don't have to pay.
Their budgets are squeezed and this is one of the things that's been hit hard.
Most people in our village pay for the (very expensive) school coaches, some parents drive and there is a limited and very long public bus route which is unreliable and takes hours as it goes via a local town first.
No one walks or cycles as the country lane to the secondary school very fast and very dangerous (there have been deaths)
It's the main topic of conversation about our rural secondary school in the surrounding villages.

Also to add, as others have asked, is there not a service bus? And if so that would be free with a young scot card anyway.

It's been 3 miles for years and years, and yes, it doesn't make much sense in view of how far people are generally happy to walk these days, but I doubt increasing the budget for school transport beyond the legal minimum is going to be on anyone's list of vote-winners...

I used to bike there and back every day at this age, same distance.

It's tricky isn't it because 3 miles at 16 is very different from a safety point of view than 3 miles at 11.

I think in part the guidance is so unclear on school buses (or at least our local authority is) but you can apply for a place on a school bus if there's one suitable and if there is a space you can have it but you'll have to pay.

I did this for 4 years at high school, just over 3m each way.

Is the catholic school classed as your catchment school? We only have catholic primaries where I am, but if you lived next door to it, it would not be classed as your catchment school unless you wanted a religious school.

If it is your catchment school, as @prh47bridge said, you wouldn't get paid transport to another school anyway, as you only get transport to your catchment school.

And it's even harder for an 11 year old on days when they need to bring in sports kit and/or a musical instrument.

I'd find it hard work to walk that distance twice daily as an adult. No way would I want my child doing it as an eleven year old. Luckily not an issue for us in London, schools are close together and the public transport is extensive. I can understand why it's govt policy though, as some places are far from schools and the cost would be huge. And realistically many families who choose to live in rural areas would accept long walking distances or having to ferry their dc around for years.

It’s not that far

Get a second hand bike?

I walk three miles each way to work 5 days a week. It’s a long way. It’s 50 minutes walk and it’s hard.

My school was 2.99 miles, I walked a mile to the nearest bus stop and then my parents paid for my bus pass.

You are soft, I did this in the 80s.

I walked the same distance to school from age 8 (70s) like many other children. There was no feasible bus route and most people didn’t have a car.

DS cycles that distance and has been since yr 4, solo since yr 5. It’s hilly and muddy in winter (all off-road) but he isn’t made of sugar.

Same here - if you don't live far enough away for the bus you cycle. The school has lockers for the kids that cycle in.....

Unless you live in the Himalayas, 3 miles is about a 50 min walk. That really isn't that bad twice a day.

That isn't your LA's policy. It is the law. For children aged 8 or more, free transport must be provided if the home to school distance is more than 3 miles by the shortest safe walking route unless you made the allocated school a higher preference than your nearest school or failed to name your nearest school as one of your preferences. There are some circumstances in which the entitlement kicks in at a shorter distance (e.g. when the child has a disability that means they cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school). However, if you don't apply to the Catholic school you are unlikely to get free transport to the allocated school regardless of the distance to the school you actually get.

Is there not a service bus ?

Yep, statutory walking distance for secondary school is 3 miles but this is the route you would walk not as the crow flies. The only way you would get free transport otherwise is if the route is hazardous and there are very specific rules as to what constitutes a hazardous walking route but if you believe it is there are ways to get it assessed. Less than 3 miles and you would have to make your own way to school to school, so walk, cycle or drive them, or pay for the bus.

If you don't apply to your nearest school then just because the school you chose is over 3 miles away does not entitle you to paid transport. If you apply to your nearest school/ schools and do not get a place at them and if the school you are allocated is more than three miles then you would be eligible for school transport.

With council budgets being so squeezed school buses are one of the savings most are trying to make.