To think ds can still go to the same school? With diagram

[Paddingtonbabies]

We live on one end of what is essentially one long road, we are moving to the other end of the road into a bigger property. It is a 10 minute walk, exactly 0.5 miles up the road.

Ds is in Primary school at the moment but will be going to senior school soon. The school we want him to go to, and that he wants, is 1 mile from where we live now, a 20 minute walk. Our new house will be half a mile further away from the school.

The dark blue bit is where our house is now.
The light blue bit is our new house, half a mile up the road.
The red bit is the school, 1 mile away from our current house.
The green bit is the bus stop which ds could walk to in 8 minutes then catch a 6 minute bus journey to outside the school.

So his options for getting to school would be, a 30 minute walk or an 8 minute walk followed by 6 minute bus journey, or a 10 minute cycle ride, or mums taxi on some days (I could probably at least take him to the bus stop).

It didn't even occur to me it would be a problem but people are reacting like it's too far for him and really shocked that we'd still send him all that way. You'd think we were moving miles away.

There is another school literally 5 minute walk from our new house, but ds would prefer to go to the further one.

I had a half hour bus ride to secondary school - I don't think I'd ever been on a bus on my own before that! I think he'll be fine, and it's great exercise for him if he walks some days.

30 minutes is not far to walk at all.

I used to get 2 buses to school, however, that was in the 80's when no one batted an eyelid about such things.

How odd of them. It's not far at all. Do they not do walking?

1.5 miles is not too far for an able-bodied 11yo to walk.

I used to 'commute' 45 mins to school for secondary, a 12 min walk plus train plus 20 min walk every day. I like the sound of cycling for 10min!

I'm not sure how this sort of thing warrents a comment at all tbh.

It's so close I.m surprised there's a bus!!

Admittedly I'm in a small town, but it's not unusual for kids here to walk to school when they start (at 6).

Of course it's fine. My DC walk two miles and there is rarely a problem. There isn't a public transport option and no school bus as under 3 miles.

Our only secondary is just a bit further away than that the next closest is 4 miles then 10 miles snall all the local kids in our small town go there and a few surrounding villages.
We do have a closer primary school but they go to the one about a mile away we were closer when they started there but moved and people were astounded I kept them there which is odd because it's still closer than the secondary they will all have to go to and that dd is already at anyway. My conclusion is people are weird.

I had a 45 minute walk when I was in middle school (managed it in 25 when we had to though!). It was great, even in the rain most times. Your extended family sound a bit lazy!

An 8 minute walk, followed by a 6 minute bus journey, for a secondary school child... Are you joking?

My Y7 DS gets a train for 20 mins, then a bus for 20 mins and a 5 min walk at each end of the journey.

And does it every day, on his own.

And is totally fine with it.

My secondary school was 40 mins on the bus.

Are you talking to the parents of 5 year olds?

Our extended family. They were absolutely horrified when I said he could walk.

Sorry but your extended family are behaving like a bunch of idiots. That is a perfectly acceptable walking distance.

With people being horrified at the though of a mere mile of walking no wonder we have an obesity crisis!

DD did that every day of secondary no problem. It never occurred to us that she wouldn't.

My mum is getting aerated about ds1 getting himself to secondary in September - he'll need to walk a bit and take a short bus ride. What's wierd is that I did a similar journey for middle school (so from age 9) and my mum used to walk an hour each way to primary. Go figure.

Do your family never walk anywhere? a mile is no distance, mine do similar. There'll be loads of other kids doing it, it turns into a bit of a social thing.

I drop them off when it's raining occasionally, not anywhere near the school or in the line of sight of someone who might see them, obviously.

Gosh no YANBU at all - I was 30 mins walk from my secondary school (the way back was sooo uphill), I did that walk every day for seven years and it did me no harm. It's good to have the walk to unwind I think.

That's the same distance as our junior school. My DC have walked/cycled there since age 7 (as have school friends who live even further away).

I used to have a 30 minute walk to school, it was fine, he will be fine.

Our DS will be walking 30 minutes to school come September