How long is your school run?

[CPHB2021]

We've sold our house and are looking for a new place, currently staying with family. Our son is at school and daughter starting this year. We're very happy with the school and will not be moving them. My question is how far do you drive for a good state school? I want to be able to still have friends back and continue to do local clubs. Is 20 mins too far? We're currently doing 18 minutes from my MIL and it doesn't seem too much but would it be too much twice a day, for 7 years plus?

20 minute walk. I don't drive but only need to walk him there two mornings a week. Husband takes him the other three days and picks him up.

30 minutes drive each way, sometimes closer to 40 mins on the way home in the evening. It’s a pain, although a couple of times a week I drive on to the office from school which is on the way.

It is a pain, but worth it for us. DS does most of his extra curricular activities at school and his friends all travel in from different directions too. It does mean a lot of chauffeuring around at the weekends, but we knew what we signed up for.

Ours will be a ten minute walk or so for both primary and secondary. I wouldn't want to have to drive, walking is a nicer start to the day for everyone.

But if it's secondary school then they can walk themselves. My primary school was a 5 minute walk away and secondary school was a 40 minute walk. Parents didn't drive and had to get to work anyway so everyone just walked when they started secondary at 11/12.

30 seconds to school gate! 2 minutes to the class. It’s great :D
Don’t envy those parking up 30 minutes early outside my house just to get a carparking spot. Only annoyance is I have to time trips out in afternoon to make sure I’m home way before school pick up or I won’t be able to park outside my own home.

We are a ten minute walk from primary school and there is no way I'd move further away than that for now - it's just so lovely to be able to walk, and all of their friends are very local too.

My kids school is a mile away, takes me 20 minutes, with them closer to half an hour on foot. In the car about 10-15 minutes factoring in traffic, parking and the walk from the car to school.

It takes me almost an hour everyday to get them to school and then turn around and go to work which is quite long but I especially need the exercise and it's good for the kids to burn some energy. I like the fact that if we are running late or it's awful weather we can drive quicker unless there are temporary traffic lights!

In the car I wouldn't want to do more than 20 minutes especially as it means not being local. My kids have friends who live either on our estate or in the village somewhere so when they get older it will be easy for them to have a social life with school friends.

We moved from a school where we had a fairly long walk (or 10 min drive) to one where its a 10 min walk. DS is now in year 4 and takes himself to school and absolutely loves the independence. He is a child who needs a lot of fresh air and exercise to be happy and calm and commuting independently on his bike really helps with this. If it's dry and a few boys are playing football on the field by school he nips home, changes his shoes and zooms back out for a kick around.

We live 10 minutes from DC primary school, it's great.

When buying our house I specifically looked in this area so we would be within walking distance, and not have to rely on the car as parking by school is a nightmare.

Plus I think they're going to make their school road a "school street" soon, so driving there will be an even bigger challenge.

I’ve only driven them to school once and that was for a 6am coach. Primary - 5 min walk, secondary 15 mins unless they are faffing in which case it can take up to 45.

i wouldn’t have driven mine for play dates. They were walking distance in primary and now they organise their own social lives

local schools all the way for us.

40 minutes each way and as I now work from home (before I worked in the same town as the school) it means I am driving 160 minutes roughly a day- barring massive travel delays or temporary traffic lights etc.

Honestly- I don't mind it. But it takes a chunk out of the day that can be annoying. And it's expensive with petrol etc. I have a small fuel economic car also. But it is worth it as the school meets my DS1s needs perfectly. There is a school bus but with 2 children on it at a cost of £6 a day each that is more expensive and takes WAY more time than me just doing it.

I've done various length (and transport commutes)

I currently have a 30 min each way, and kids in 2 different schools (variable difference in end time), so I'm spending 3-4 hours a day in the car - and TBH it's a bit much, but the children are settled in the schools, and with the rest of their upheaval I'm not going to change them, and I'm just going to suck it up for the next few years and try not to burn out squeezing job and house in around it.

Personally, a 10 min walk is ideal in my mind, up to about 20 minutes (drive or walk) I don't really mind, anything over 20 mins needs a lot (especially if traffic is involved that can extend that)

Yes and I agree with this. My experience is that alot of the kids at the school live varying distances. It's an independent school that is really the only one in our area that caters to children with autism, dyslexia and adhd adequately. So driving for playdates is pretty normal, but equally mine are not the only children in our town that go to the school- there are 3 other families in our own street alone, two of whom have children the same age.

Now they are older kids tend to go on the bus to the main town and meet up there.

Far better if you’re close enough to walk. But I’d say 20 mins would be my absolute max. But is it 20 mins from your house including traffic? Here it can take 30 mins to go 3 or 4 miles.

Also bear in mind secondary schools as primary time soon goes. If the kids are all local they might all get a place at a school your child is out of catchment for. Check the local secondaries before buying as you want to make sure ideally you’re in catchment for good secondary schools.

40 minutes to the grammar school. To be fair, it was a 10min drive to the bus but with Covid I drove her for the last 2 years. We lived in one of the areas with extra restrictions due to the prevalence.
It was worth it.

30 mins there but she gets the school coach back.

primary is a 3min walk. Secondary they are on school transport so nothing for me at all

6 miles (12-40 minutes each way depending on traffic)

3 minutes drive (normally I'd walk but it's a really steep hill and I'm heavily pregnant) then from parking to school gates about 5 min walk.

We're extremely lucky to live near a great school though.

Swings and roundabouts to both options at primary level

its nice to be able to walk and to have school friends on the doorstep for play dates.
but the school has to be good enough, and car journeys are a good time to really talk to your children , particularly as they get older and more sullen

First school was 1 ish mile away, but I had to drive, as had to hoof it to work afterwards. Lots of people in this position.
We lived one of the furthest away.
Curreht school (since year 5) is in the next town, 4 ish miles away, she mostly gets school transport, but if we have to drive, we need to leave 30 min, due to traffic

5-10 minute walk (depending on how fast/distracted kids are) to primary. Secondary will be at least 30 minute bus journey as we live in a village

I live 2 mins walk from the primary school and 20 mins walk from secondary school. It's great.

More importantly, I'd be reluctant to agree to a play date that took 40 mins round trip during the week. I'd be looking at areas which had good transport connections to the senior school and go from there - it's very important for older kids to be connected to their friends and not reliant on you.

I'm really shocked that some of these runs are so long. I honestly believe anything over 20 minutes borders on abusive. How can a child spend hours and hours each week strapped in place?? Worse than guantanamo.

Primary school and a 10 minute walk with DS - 5 if I am by myself!

9 minute walk each way for us.