To think the Headmaster should realise that rural schools don't run like a town school (transport related).

[Sunnymeg]

I'm not personally affected by this, as we drive DS to school. DS goes to a rural secondary school, three quarters of the children travel to school on transport provided by county.

The school buses are all times to arrive by at least 8.45am. In previous years, GCSE students have caught the bus as normal and gone straight to the exam rooms. However we have now been told that GCSE students have to be in school by 8am. No reason has been given. I can only assume that it is to give school time to do their admin etc and make sure everyone has turned up.

We received an email about this over the weekend. The secondary school is in a village location and I would imagine that lots of parents already have their own work commitments and probably work in one of the two nearest town's, both some 20 miles away from the school.

The more I think about this, the more unreasonable it sounds. The Head has only been in city schools, previously. Some children have a journey in excess of 20 miles , due to the rural location.

I cannot understand why he is doing this and why he has only given a few days notice, what does he expect people to do. The majority of them will probably continue with their existing routine and put their children on the bus.

However the kicker to all this, is that the email says that if children don't arrive by 8am their names will be taken and repeat offenders will not be allowed to attend prom!!

That only works if there are other forms of public transport. Besides these students are entitled to free transport to school. Why should they pay just because education authorities have decided to close schools?

Where is this rural in the UK? Scotland or Wales? Surely nowhere in England? Off topic but I am so intrigued by all these rural posters/threads!

My kids all went to rural schools, no public transport from our village to the village where the school is, so I know the problem. He can't insist on them being there from 8am, only suggest that they come in early, and I'd question the efficacy of trying to cram stuff into them just prior to an exam anyway. Is the new Head worried about loads of kids failing?

And, ellie we are in North Yorkshire. Often 20 miles between secondary schools, very little public transport and catchment area includes farms and other 'off the beaten track' villages, where there are no regular bus services.

You do know that not everywhere in England is not as built up as the South East (or even the Midlands) and that there can be large swathes of countryside between cities and towns where people can live?

Lake District, Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales just for starters.

Have a look at this catchment map
www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/findaschool/schooldetails?dfesno=4153
The catchment is nearly ten miles across
there are no other secondary schools in that area
and pretty much no public transport

Maybe only go to a rural school if you live close by.
We used to live rurally and dc came from one of 3 nearby villages.
They could mostly walk or bike (at this age) if they had to be in early.
It's the summer and GCSE's will be done before winter.
Why would parents of GCSE students, be putting them on busses?

This is one of those posts that makes me wnat to shout at the computer for its pure stupidity.

Do you even understand the concept of rural????
The rural primary my dc went to fed into a rural secodnary, the closest one to us and well supplied with school buses.
The secondary was 7 miles away, on narrow, twisting roads which would have been suicidal to cycle. Even if all the kids had a working bike, and were cycling savvy.
The free transport is there because the council recognises that the students cannot reasonably get to school themselves.

Oh and this was Goucestershire, just 10 miles away from M4, so hardly remote, and there was NO public transport from our village to the secondary school ever. That is what it means to live outside London/major city.

Presumably OP's idiot Head has backed down by now?

Shocked at those questioning catchment of 20 miles.
This happens in loads and loads of counties, Suffolk, Devon and Cornwall, to name but a few. How can you not know this?

And those places aren't that remote. Literally, Only a few miles out of a major town like Plymouth in Devon, would you get this. Tavistock school has catchment for many many miles, encompassing 10's of villages.

I used to travel on a school bus to secondary catchment school - a good half hour at least along country roads. Got to school when the bus arrived; no other way to get to school. Pretty much all students who didn't live in school village (perhaps three quarters of school) travelled this way, very unusual to be driven in.

Head sounds out of touch - all kids on buses are going to be affected so no way in reality his ideas are going to work.

The 6th form that my kids attended takes kids from up to 35 miles in every direction .....
For many of the villages, the college bus is the ONLY public transport

I think it's just that gilly's rural is on the edge of a large conurbation, so it's a different kettle of fish to the Highlands etc.

Where is this rural in the UK? Scotland or Wales? Surely nowhere in England?

Yeah cos England is all one built up area and we Scots are all still living in crofts in the Heelans!

To be fair on Gilly, she has apologised.

Ellie on the other hand needs more Geography education

There is also the expectation that by 16 / 17 students don’t rely on the school bus and can use other forms of public transport.
In our village the only public bus services now are the ones timed for schools/college as those in the middle of the day have been cut.

There is also the expectation that by 16 / 17 students don’t rely on the school bus and can use other forms of public transport.

What other forms of public transport? My parents live in a Welsh village. Not that isolated compared to many places but still fairly rural. After the chartered school buses there is one bus a day, around 11am. If you miss it then it’s hard luck.

yes, I am sorry.
We lived in Norfolk and Suffolk and as I stated what it was like and presumed it was the same.
I presumed it was the OP fault for choosing a school so far away, and then complaining about the consequences.
I am sorry OP, it will teach me not to presume.
I thought the only schools where you had to travel so far were those in very remote areas, and I was wrong.

In our village the only public bus services now are the ones timed for schools/college as those in the middle of the day have been cut.

Same here.

We live in a rural county in a village. Our nearest secondary school is 5 miles away so all the children in the village go on the school bus. This sort of arrangement would have been a nightmare for many families here too. When my DS sat his GCSE's he still travelled on the school bus which got him to school at the usual time of 8.40. If he had an afternoon exam I either had to take him or he had to get a public service bus (we are lucky enough to have one) which got him there before lunchtime so he was there in time for the afternoon session.
70% of the children at his Secondary school arrived on school buses from rural areas - there were 1300 pupils at this large 'village' comprehensive. As far as I am aware exam students were all in the exam room by 9.00 but occasionally they didn't actually start the exam until 5-10 minutes later but they still got their full time. If my memory serves me right no one is allowed to leave the exam room for 1 hour after the start time so no danger of having contact with someone at a school elsewhere who has seen the exam paper even if they start slightly late.

Changing the rules and then penalising children who cannot possibly comply is totally unreasonable. I hope your HT sees sense and agrees something that is actually possible for the students.

"There is also the expectation that by 16 / 17 students don’t rely on the school bus and can use other forms of public transport."

Such as?

My family all live in isolated rural areas, a few go by Wille Wonka's Magic Elevator but most are stuck without the school bus.

And don't even think of suggesting cycling. Not til you have read the thread about driving in the highlands and 'locals' all wanting to drive fast round bendy rural lanes.

There is also the expectation that by 16 / 17 students don’t rely on the school bus and can use other forms of public transport.

the village we lived in had NO public transport to the village with the secondary school.

When I was teenager in the next village over, there was one bus on Tuesday into town, and another one on Thursday back from town.
Literally, 2 buses per week.

Gilly - I have just given you a hard time on this page and totally missed your apology earlier in the thread.
very sorry.

We have had a very brief email from school, saying that they are going to send a detailed email tomorrow about GCSE plans. I presume that they must be having some sort of meeting about all of this tonight and we will find out what's happening tomorrow.

Oh and for those who are wondering, we haven't any public transport to the school's location apart from a bus that gets there at 11am and returns at 2.30pm. The bus company cancelled the morning and afternoon services as all the children are entitled to free transport , so there was absolutely no demand. So we only have a shopper special that drives past the school en route to the nearest town.

I agree. I was bought up on a very rural area. My primary was a 15 minute bus ride away and my secondary over half an hour. Going to a school we lived close to ( as an earlier poster who has presumably never lived properly rurally suggested) would have meant either us moving or the LA building an extra school!

Oh and out nearest bus stop was a 40 minute walk woth buses every hour at most then a 25 minute walk to school at other end so not exactly a reliable way if getting to school

we aren't that rural but still only bus to school is the school bus - the other buses we have are once or twice a week and you have to phone up the day before so they come to the stop. There is a train but then its still 2 miles from school at the station. Cycling is not an option as the roads are too small or too big/busy (major routes like A46). I don't think you have to be majorly rural to have these issues