Maximum travel distance from school to home

Bear in mind all their friends will also becomes away, and I doubt the coach would accommodate out of hours extra curricular activities. So you end up being taxi one way or another.

My daughter has a private hire coach service. It’s an hour each way. The first term of year 7 was difficult but after that she got used to it and now uses it for her downtime in the morning listening to music and her homework in the afternoon.

I drive my SEN foster DS 20 miles to college every day and it takes an hour. Then drive 20 miles home again about 45 minutes. Then again to collect 20 miles, 40 minutes then home again another 20 miles and another hour. Rush hour is dreadful near Birmingham.

@Jhhhfsd for secondary, I would say an hour each way is the maximum commute time I’d consider. I agree with PPs that it does depend on what the commute looks like. If it’s very faffy or unreliable I wouldn’t do it, but for a booked seat on a school coach (that won’t go bust within 5 years…) or a regular and safe bus or train service would be ok. It depends on the child, of course.

My DD commutes to grammar, and it’s 5-6 miles on two public buses (both extremely frequent services) and it takes her about 50 minutes in the mornings (she chooses to go early and do homework or hang out with friends at school) and an hour or just over in the afternoons. It was her choice of school – she could have chosen another grammar 4 miles away with just one bus, or indeed one of two decent comps, one of which was within walking distance.

We didn’t even consider the ‘best’ grammar in the region, which would have been 12 miles away and approx 90 minutes’ commute. Yes – it scores a bit higher on league tables, but plenty of girls get 9s in every subject every year at her chosen grammar, so there was no reason to think that our DD would do better elsewhere.

In your position, I would consider the following questions:

1. Will you be prouder of your children if they are at the ‘best’ grammar school? Is this actually about bragging rights with family/friends? Be honest with yourself!

2. Are you certain that your children will achieve better grades and/or be happier at the ‘best’ grammar than they would at a closer grammar or comprehensive school?

3. Are your children extremely keen to go to the ‘best’ grammar, despite the long commute? If they are keen, is it because they genuinely love that school or are they keen because you’ve told them it’s the best?

4. Is the private hire coach service a very reliable and longstanding business? Round here (West Midlands) catchment areas were introduced for some grammar schools a few years ago, and a couple of years later the private coach service folded at short notice due to reduced demand, leaving many families stuck. At least you have the train option - it it very easy, reliable and safe?

Nobody can tell you what’s right for your children. I would just encourage you to question how important ‘best’ is, and whether the difference it will make to your children will be worth all that lost time.

DD does 90 minutes each way.

7 minutes walk, 50 minutes train, 5 minutes walk, 15 minutes train, 5 minutes walk.

She's Y11 now and has done this length commute since Y1 of Primary. And will do a slightly longer one next year.

The main thing is how faffy the journey is and how much walking/waiting. She quite likes the 50 minutes on the train. Guaranteed a seat, heating, wifi and she can get a table seat and do a lot of homework, or she downloads films onto her iPad and just chills out for an hour.

What gets annoying are ones with lots of connections, or long waits between, or long walks if it's raining. She could cut 20 minutes off the journey doing a different route, but it's a much longer walk at the end.

On the upside, she's incredibly independent and good at organising travel - knows how to re-route journeys, deal with rail replacement buses, find her way round a gazillion apps. She also has a season ticket so just goes into London at weekends to see friends etc.

When we were looking at Y12 options, we set the limit at 2 hours each way maximum - and only if it was the place of her dreams. In the end it came in at 1 hour 40 mins. And location is very handy for things she wants to do after classes so worth it.

So how far is the school for you? My son's school is 18 mins drive away on a quiet time, but in rush hours it can take me up to 40mins this can be daily morning and after school. I do the drop/pick ups. You need to consider the rush hour traffic, and will you be taking them or sending them on a bus? My son's friend catches a bus and has to wake up earlier and leave much earlier and returns home much later and is quite tired from the long day.

people will travel further for faith, private's & grammars.

In London an hour door to door is quite normal.

I live fairly rurally and know many children who commute 25+ miles to the nearest city for private schools. Not what I would choose for my DC, but it is certainly done.

By choice, or being allocated it?

I believe its 75mins considered reasonable