Do you drive your secondary age child to school?

[furandchandeliers]

My oldest is starting secondary school next year and from the conversations I've had with other parents most will be driving their kids to school and picking them up every day, I'm quite supposed as I just assumed everyone would get the school bus unless there's a reason not to.

It made me wonder what most people do, I always got the bus but that was in the 90s and maybe times have changed!

fwiw the school bus picks up at the end of our road and the school is about 5 minutes drive away. We live in a village and the bus is only used by school kids.

Its also difficult to justify the cost of bus fayre for what would be a 5 minute detour onthe way to work.

I didn't to start with, but do now. Most girls at DD school take the train or coaches. The local station is a 5 min walk from our house, but sadly the school changed their timetable, the train company also changed theirs, and with a connection to catch in town, it is now not possible to get to school on time. We have to leave by 7.30am in the morning to miss the traffic, and it's a 40 min trip twice a day for me.

Mine get a school bus.

However, they go to school just over the Border in a different LEA so the bus has to be paid fir and it cost a lot! However it does save me huge amounts in petrol.

No, both my DC go by train to their school though i have offered a lift to the station on wet days. I haven't needed to yet.

I will occasionally pick them up if they're finishing very late (after 6.30pm) as they will have had a very long day.

Mind go on the bus, similar distance but some parents drive their kids. The year 6 parents are probably saying this because they can't imagine their 10 year old doing a bus journey! A lot will change in a year and the kids will want to go with their friends.

Don't drive if they can walk or get the bus. It's bad for the environment and bad for their independence and life skills.

DS (year 8) usually cycles unless it's really windy or rainy then DH sometimes gives him a lift.

I pick mine up from school if there are after school activities because the next available bus home is at 6pm and I don't want her standing in an almost deserted bus station on her own for an hour and a half waiting for it.

When I went to school I almost always got a lift because although it was the nearest school it wasn't within walking distance and I didn't live near a bus route

Mine refused the school bus so walk 2.5 miles each way, and it's very hilly!

Dh drives them to school if he happens to be off, but mostly they get public transport.

I drive my DCs but we don’t have a school bus. There is a service from our village to the town but it stops at least 10-15 minutes walk from school and the timings do not work out - they’d be late.
If they had access to the school bus they would get that.
Our “safe walking route” is along a busy A road with no pavement or streetlights. The council’s alternative route was a 3 mile hike across country, including over a mile through quite dense ancient woodland- not really a practical option!

I car share with another mum to take my child and friend to school. We found that the school bus was constantly late at least 2 days a week during the winter months. Hasn’t been late since

I've dropped yr 11 ds a handful of times since he started, if that, due to missing the bus (once) or 1st thing medical appointments. Yr 8 ds never.
School bus goes from the top of our road.
I collect both of them regularly when they have after school activities.

Their dad picks up and drops off when he has them overnight, but he doesn't live in catchment, public transport would be a total pita for them and I'm not sure ds1 would bother going.

No, mine wouldn't have been seen dead with a parent dropping them off, it's a bit babying
You were bullied senseless if mummy came to school.

Yes - or he drives there now that he is learning. It is exactly the same direction that I drive to work and the timings work out so I feel it would be petty not to. I don't pick him up though, he either walks home or cadges a lift from his friends - they are allowed to take their cars in sixth form. It would be a 40 minute walk otherwise, perfectly do-able of course.