13 year olds taking the train to school in London

[RoseRosalind]

I'm in the middle of a divorce, I have 13 year old twins, a boy and a girl.

I'm currently looking for a house to rent and I found a great property in Notting Hill.

My DCs are due to start new schools in September, although they're not attending the same schools they're both within walking distance of Westminster station.

The house I'm currently looking at is a 20 min walk from Notting Hill Gate Station and then from Notting Hill they can get the train straight to Westminister together, it's 7 stops and then go their separate ways.

They're use to long school journeys, so roughly a 40 min commute won't bother them, but it's the travelling by train every day in central London, that I'm worried about.

My nephew has HFA and has been commuting across London on his own since he was 13. Sure, he forgot his Oyster card a couple of times and missed the odd train/stop but he sorted himself out pretty quickly and it's given him a huge amount of self-confidence.

Try to see the positives :)

Lots of schoolchildren on the tube at rush hour, they all seem to cope well.

I used to get the train into central manchester from the outskirts every morning, on my own, from the age of 11. Never did me any harm. Made me more independent in fact.

They'd be fine from a safety perspective, but commutes are horrible, horrible things that do appear to have significant negative effects on physical and mental health

That's bullshit, for college I commuted 15 miles via two buses or a bus, a train and a 20 minute walk and I'm fine.

I have done that commute and don't think it's a nice one, and wouldn't want it for my DC, I would probably look to rent somewhere cheaper, eg south of the river.

It's not going to be a problem other than the tube being crowded - can they go in earlier - most schools have somewhere set aside from about 8 am for pupils to sit. My two (12 and 13) both make a long journey across south London each day via train and tube and before then sometimes took a shorter bus journey together from ages of 9 and 10. I think that busy public transport is quite safe but agree with a pp that it is the journey to and from the station that is likely to be the issue.

I taught my daughters what to do if they didn't have their oyster card with them (ie go and explain to a station official) and the couple of occasions this has happened they have been able to sort themselves out. The other thing they need to learn is some alternative routes for the inevitable break down in the tube - perhaps use the summer holidays as a chance to try out a few different routes (ie district line and central line and various buses) so that they can work out their own alternatives if necessary. Or you can look for a house somewhere nearer and cheaper like Pimlico....

I commuted to that part of town for school as well. pp are right that all their classmates will be commuting too. I'm sure they will be fine

My only reservation would be that both stops are going to be very busy - they are the kinds of stops where lots of people get on (but not so many get off). Could they get the bus instead (52 or 148?). Will take a lot longer but they are more likely to get a seat and it is generally less claustrophobic and unfriendly than the tube. Not for every day but perhaps as a backup if they're feeling tired.

or as Pp said, somewhere like Fulham south of the river might make for a slightly less busy train

I have now been commuting in London for nearly 30 years and, apart from 'avoid if possible' my advice is always to get up half an hour earlier so that you can read a book on a bus! Rather sit with a book and a window in a traffic jam than wait for 3 packed tubes to go by on the platform.

Having said that, everyone I was at school with commuted and we are all totally fine.

NothingMoreThanFelines - it could be a small world, couldn't it? Did your school begin with an 'S'?

They will be fine OP. Children travel all over London by train, especially to private and grammar secondary schools from year 7. I would imagine (hope) that fellow commuters and TFL will secretly look out for them too in that British Stiff Upper Lip I Have No Idea What You Are Talking About sort of way. I know I do when I spot unaccompanied year 6 kids from my sons primary school commuting. I understand your worries though. My son will be doing this too in year 7!

This thread is making me smile ..... The people who did the commute themselves versus those who never did and think it's so awful you should change school/move house /book their bed in St Thomas's now .

Both are good schools and they'll almost certainly be commuting with friends most days. It'll be fine. Most of their classmates will have been doing the trip since year 7 anyway. Do a few dry runs to put your mind at rest - but it'll probably benefit you more than them :)

They'll be fine. Mine did a mixture of Tubes and buses from Year 7, and friends often had a train journey on top of that. Do a couple of practice runs, make sure they have alternative routes (bus) for when the Tube line they need isn't working, and be prepared for the occasional lost Oyster card! Seven stops isn't very much and they won't have to change lines.

NothingMoreThanFelines - it could be a small world, couldn't it? Did your school begin with an 'S'?

It sure did.

We live outside of London, and DS at 15 wasn't that confident about using public transport. But when he did a course at Imperial for a week, after day 1 he coped with: mainline train, swap to underground and then walking to the course. He even coped when he lost his ticket home (a nice guy gave him as an under 16 year old a permit to travel).
Lots of 11 year olds do quite complex journeys every day to and from school.

My daughter is 13 has told me tonight she phoned a helpline 3 times thinks she has anxiety! It breaks my heart. Her dad is in prison, his gf who he has a baby with has cut herself and told my dd this which I am not pleased about because she does not need to deal with this at her age, but the gf who is alot younger that her dad, seems to think my dd is her friend! On top of that my 20 year old son suffers with anxiety it's been a real struggle these past few months but maybe just maybe we r getting him threw it. My granny has lung cancer and pulmonary fibrosis and is finding it hard to breathe and is unsteady. K have has to reduce my hours at work to deal with all this plus doing my access diploma to get onto my physiotherapy degree at uni. I'm 35 by the way. Anyone any tips on how to get threw all this

@Elaine03 you need to repost this by starting a new thread in a suitable topic.

They'll be fine. I went to school in the Barbican centre (outs self)

PinaColada. We share the same alma mater. I’m older than you though so mine were the Carmelite Street days. I recently went to the exhibition at the Barbican Library. Those old uniforms brought back some memories. Especially the infernal straw boaters. 😂

I understand your concern OP. Somehow it seems scarier on public transport. My kids commute an hour to school (no choice it’s the closest welsh medium school to where we live) but because it’s s school bus it somehow feels less worrying. The truth is though they will be fine, do a few dry runs and make sure they know what to do in the event of a lost oyster or missed stop and they will be grand.

WTF? Is this more whining from car-obsessed mundanes or a matter of some people living in some rustic fairyland where every little country lane has a sweet little village school at the end of it?
Round our way (London suburbs) nearly all the kids over 11/12 get buses/trains to school and back again. DS started getting the tram the single stop to school by himself in the summer he was in Year 6, which was what the local authority advice is for Year 6 kids - to get them ready for independent travel.

7 stops on the Circle line is perfectly doable. Like others said tell your kids what to do if they lose their Oyster (happened a few times to my kids) or alternative routes if the line is completely down which is rare.

Many kids in London start commuting at 11. You are doing your kids a huge favour by teaching them to use public transport. My elder DD went to a school where some girls had never been on a tube or train by themselves at age 16/17 and were really scared to do so - it’s ridiculous.

Just realised this is a zombie thread - duh