London parents - how far would you travel for primary school?

[mrsmmrsimrsssimrs]

We have to move and struggling to find a rental - generally, it's a nightmare, but specifically near our child's school. More affordable stuff seems to be further away - around a 45 walk (half an hour by bus).

Today after school I tried to go to a flat viewing at about this distance, thought it would be good to give the journey a go and see what it would be like. Well, the bus never turned up and I had to cancel as what should have been a 30 minute journey by bus ended up being a 45 minute walk with no bus and I was too late. Kids were both screaming/moaning. It made me realise that a half hour commute definitely wouldn't be half an hour in reality. I commute for work so do know this (oh so painfully) but it drove it home! Figuratively at least...

Very keen to keep DS in the same school as he has additional needs and as we rent, I don't want to end up being kicked out of somewhere else in a year and have to move schools multiple times.

So London parents, how far are you from your kids' primary schools and how far would you willing to be? My partner doesn't drive and my car has a tendency not to work - not to mention parking near the school is tricky - so we'd need to rely on public transport.

We are a 15 min walk (up a hill) away at adult pace. It takes about double that with my 5&7 year old- especially on the way home when you include saying goodbye to their friends etc. It's just about doable but with the school day so short it does take a fair chunk of the day

London outskirts and we are 25 minutes walk from my sons school. It's not really that bad, I find the walk in the morning seems good for him to wake up and he enjoys riding his scooter home after school. He has some friends he'll often ride alongside if they leave at the same time so it's been good for him socially. On the days I don't have the scooter it gives us a nice time to chat about his day on the way home. Obviously it's a bit miserable when it rains but in the summer sunshine it's really nice.
There was a not so great school 5 minutes away and I do sometimes think wistfully about how great that drop off would be instead. But he's so happy and thriving where he is so I feel it's worth it. The forced daily exercise probably isn't bad for us both either!

We aren’t London but we are a 30 minute drive and I def wouldn’t want to be any further.

We’re just over a mile away. We’d accepted a place at the local prep school, which was closer, but changed our minds and switched to the state school instead which is a bit further.

Because we’ve still got one child at nursery we have to drive to fit the drop-offs in and when the traffic’s bad it can sometimes be a 30 minute round-trip.

30 minute walk. No car so we walk every day. Never been a problem. I'm going to miss my morning walk when she moves up to secondary!

We rent in SE London & we moved out of area due wanting a house previously living in flats. We wanted DD to stay in her primary school ~ 1 of the best in the area. Takes us 30 mins car journey each way, luckily I work 5 mins round the corner from the school. It benefits both ways as I didn’t have change my hours to accommodate if she would moved school close to where we live now would be nightmare. Good luck with your search.

I do 45 minutes to my Children’s central london school

3 minute walk, but it is uphill

Both ways?

🙄

30-35 min walk. Youngest is 8 though, wouldn't do it with a 4 year old. Scooters for the kids. Moved a year ago for more space and secondary catchments.

Similar area here @Partyofthree - great that your work location is convenient! Part of me just feels exhausted at the idea of a longer commute to school followed by my own (and then doing it all at the end of the day) 😂 The school isn't even that amazing, but he's happy there and while I'd be happy to move him once, I'd be reluctant if there's a chance we'd move again in a year or two.

This is good to know. Mine are both younger (youngest still a toddler) so it might be trickier when the youngest is also there, but equally the youngest is a much more robust child who will probably deal better with longer distances 😅

Our current walk to school has a hill both ways. Lucky us.

That sounds lovely! You've reminded me to think of the positives 😊

Exercise definitely a positive! As long as I don't end up carrying the scooter and dealing with a whining child I'd be fine with the walk. The hills make scooting a bit of an issue but not insurmountable...

My DD’s school is about a 25 minute walk away. We always walk or cycle in the morning, rain or shine. She goes to after school club so we pick her up by car at 17:45, as it’s such a long day for her.
The secondary that she will most likely go to is actually 15 minutes closer.

I'm such an idiot. The more affordable places I mentioned in my op are actually a 45-50 minute walk, 30-35 mins by bus. A 30 min walk would be fine!

Less than a 5 minute walk (no hills!). I’d be happy with a 30 minute walk but less keen on similar journey that involved public transport. Having said that though I probably only do the school run about 1 day a fortnight so DH might have a different opinion about how long he’d tolerate!
I’ve got a colleague whose 9 year old does a 45 min+ 2 bus journey to school by herself (Southall to West Ken). The busses are fairly reliable in the morning though and there’s no way she could do the same journey in the afternoon.

I live in West London and am happy for my daughter to do a 15 min walk when I can't pick her up. I think 30 mins walk would be the limit for me, although for some reason I feel a little more uncomfortable for my daughter despite the fact I did this as a child.
Good luck with the move, I was looking into this myself and found this free site useful as it allowed you to pin a location and find nearby schools.
www.buddingsparks.co.uk/schools/search

Oh that's very helpful, thank you!

Yes in my head 30 mins is max, as soon as we had to rely on buses I think it would get stressful.

Thanks - that is a long way for a child!

Electric cargo bike. That's what we use for the school run; it would be a 20 minute walk but we do it in 5 minutes.

We got the bike just before DC1 started school and haven't looked back. We barely use the car any more.

London and I've just moved my 6 year to a school a 9 minute walk away rather than a 40 minute walk. Absolute game changer

Not sure what that is but will have a look! Problem is no storage for bikes - and having two kids!