How old were you when you went to school by yourself, and what year?

[cornflowerblue19]

I was seven (1988.) I was also coming home to an empty house. I think it was a bit young even then.

I was 7, it was 1983. It was about a mile but no main roads to cross (though plenty of smaller roads to cross).

7 in 1981
My DD was 8 when she started.
My mum was 4 !

7 in 1963. Main road in Hackney, London. Several busy roads to cross.

1960’s, aged 7.
5 min walk to bus stop, 5 mile journey to next town, 10 min walk to school.

Aged 7, 1970s.

School was literally across the road.

8 years old, 1989.

My dad would drive us to school every morning even though it was only a five minute walk with just one road crossing and a sedate suburban street crossing at that. He would collect us at lunch hour and drive us home for midday dinner, as that's how my SAHM mother insisted it would be, before driving us back up the hill again afterwards for our afternoon classes. I would always walk home by myself though, from about 6 or 7 years old.

Secondary was almost the same. My school was on my dad's route to work so I was dropped off every morning,collected and driven home at lunchtime and back again for the afternoon classes. The only difference was that my mother expected me to get the bus home after school even though, by the time I would have walked up the main road to the bus stop, waited for the bus to arrive which would then wend it's way through a couple of large housing estates, I'd have been quicker if I'd walked out of the school gates and kept going until I'd walked all the way home.

It was 1991, I was 4 and I went alone on the school bus with the other Local Primary and Secondary kids on my first day.

Another ‘that’s not right’ I have on my list.

I was 5. Walked 5 mins to the bus stop (one road to cross) and then got a bus to very close to primary school. Same in reverse. I always had my sister with me, who was one year older, and when they were old enough we were joined by younger siblings

There were two other sets of siblings who got the bus from the same stop, but we had a longer walk to get there.

The first day, our father walked to the bus stop with us, but never after that.

1960s

Age 5, in 1950. No way was my DM putting my two younger DSis age 2 and 3 in a pram 4 times a day to walk me to and from school.

I went with my 2 older brothers from age 4.5, P1, in 1972 as mum had my then baby sister. By the time we got to the end of the street the boys had met their friends and probably wouldn't have noticed if I wandered off!!

The school was around 1 mile away along a path beside, then a bridge over, a river. When the river was in spate it came right up to the crumbling path edge (with no barrier). They probably wouldn't have noticed if I fell in the river either!!

Year 5 in 1988, I think. Village school with only little residential roads to cross.

I think I was 9 iirc. Had to only cross two quiet roads, but was half a mile.

My dd asks to walk home and she’s 10, but the house will be empty. So ASC it is then.

I walked with my friend - we were both five - from our home to school (about three quarters of a mile away) along a main road. This was in 1964. We would walk home together and sometimes my mum would wait for us on the corner of our cul-de-sac.

When I was nine (1968) and living somewhere else my mum would take my sister (who was six) and me to the bus stop and see us on to the bus for a journey of about two miles to school.

After school I would get my sister from the infants' and we would go to the bus stop and get the bus back, but as mum worked I would then walk half a mile with her to our aunt's house.

1987 age 11

I think I remember walking to school on my own in year 5 so I think I was 9? This was in 2001/2002.

The walk with my 9 year old legs probably took 10 mins or so, if i was to walk the same route now it would probably only take me 5 mins.

aged 9, went on the bus to middle school. Had to take the bus with the long route though not the direct one as my parents didn't want me crossing the major road to get to the other one. 1983. Came home to an empty house and let myself in with key that I wore round my neck on a string.

It was done thing here that parents walked you on first day or week of middle school so year five and then you were on your own. So I was nine I’m guessing? (July birthday)

Aged 5, a few weeks into my first term I decided I wanted to walk myself. It was fine, there were a crowd of around 10 kids from my street and a few more we would meet en route. It was a 20 minute walk with 3 very minor roads. There was a lot of messing around on the way home after school but on the way there we all behaved and made sure to get there on time. I also walked back and forward at lunchtime until around primary 4 when I insisted on packed lunch.

I think my own DD was 10, the biggest worry was traffic. The road outside the school wasn't a main road but loads of parents dropping off, and the area with double yellows for safe crossing was pretty much always blocked.

I was 5, 1975 but was with my older sister (+ 2 years). 7 min walk, no roads to cross. We used to go home at lunchtime as well. My SAHM was always in.