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Original poster

Long school bus journey

35 replies

NorthLondonmum83 · 07/11/2019 07:16

We live overseas and have pretty much settled on the part of the city we feel has the best quality of life, and on the best school for our 2 kids. And sadly they aren't particularly close to one another! The private school provides almost door to door bus service, would be an hour each way.
Seems loads to me and off putting. DP fine with it, grew up doing similar reckoned bus was fun.
Grew up in village in UK walking to school for 5 mins (that won't happen here) so my view slightly skewed. Is an hour too long? Son is 5.
Takes nursery school bus now but only 25 mins or so (but enjoys it)

OP posts:
Original poster
NorthLondonmum83 · 07/11/2019 07:18

Sorry should add - school we are fixed on. We could live closer, it's just then more living city centre as opposed to coast with all the outdoor loveliness and clean air which we are keen on!

OP posts:
FridalovesDiego · 07/11/2019 07:20

I would never make my child do an hour journey to school. It is just such a horrible way to spend a childhood. I would move to the centre and enjoy life more.

Catrescue1971 · 07/11/2019 07:48

My ds1 had a long journey to school between ages 11-18 and that was 35 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. By the time he had left he was utterly sick of it. He continued because his friends went there. And of course ds1 was much older than 5!! However for different reasons there were many occasions when I drove there for him - on top of parents evenings and concerts. I too became sick of the journey. Plus sometimes problems on the nearby motorway made the journey longer. My subsequent children went to the local school and it is much better.

LIZS · 07/11/2019 07:59

An hour is madness at 5. What about playdates and friendships if classmates are similarly scattered and events at school.

Wildorchidz · 07/11/2019 08:02

Yes. An hour is far too long.

Wildorchidz · 07/11/2019 08:03

Surely there are other schools that you would consider.

Sewbean · 07/11/2019 08:06

Are there other schools closer or do you live rurally?
It would have to be a really amazing school for my 5 yr old to spend 2 hours a day on a bus. Where we live he wouldn't be outside in the daylight at all from October till March. Not much point living in a beautiful place if you can't ever enjoy it.

TulipCat · 07/11/2019 08:10

Two hours a day travel time is too much for such a young child.

crimsonlake · 07/11/2019 08:28

I agree 2 hours on a bus for such a young child is madness.

JoJoSM2 · 07/11/2019 08:34

I also think it’s way too much for a 5yo. And he wouldn’t get to enjoy the coastal lifestyle if he’s out of the house all day. If he’s only going to be able to make use of the beach and other stuff at weekends, you might as well live near the school and drive down on Saturdays. We do a similar thing: live on the edge of the city for convenience and get out at weekends.

Winesalot · 07/11/2019 08:44

OP there are other considerations here as well. What about school friends and the social side where they have play dates? After school activities as they get older and can’t take the bus and you have to drop them off/collect them? At that age, does getting into this private school matter so much for their education? The wisest bit of information I ever received was that the best school for your small child was one that was very close to your house. Never underestimate the need for developing a network of school friends parents locally.

In saying that, I went to a rural school and travelled well over an hour each way from that young age. It wasn’t a problem. You chatted to people who were different from your usual friends, played games or you read books or did homework (later on). It certainly did not ruin my childhood. It was even fun most of the time.

Legomadx2 · 07/11/2019 08:46

An hour on the bus aged five is awful! Surely you c an find a decent school closer than that?

ClashCityRocker · 07/11/2019 08:51

How long is the school day?

I think for the typical UK school day (9ish til 3ish) it sounds quite long. Will it be his first year in school? If so he might be absolutely shattered with no commute.

Shosha1 · 07/11/2019 08:52

I grew up in Singapore and had an hour bus journey each way. But I was secondary school. It never bothered me. Often slept in the way in as it was an earlier start than in UK

AgentProvocateur · 07/11/2019 08:53

I wouldn’t even commute for that length of journey. Awful to consider it for a 5 year old.

mamaoffourdc · 07/11/2019 08:58

I would move closer, private schools have a longer day than normal schools and lots of prep!

ColdRainAgain · 07/11/2019 09:17

It's not just the actual bus time tho. If the whole school comes home by bus, actually getting out of the school may take time.
So, my kids bussed to school when we were abroad. The school bell rang at 2.30, the bus shut its doors about 2.50, and didnt leave the school grounds til 3.05 - they just sat in a snaking queue of busses to turn onto the main road. Kids were home 20 mins later.

ConFusion360 · 07/11/2019 09:33

I would move closer, private schools have a longer day than normal schools and lots of prep!

DH did this. He is thankful to his parents for the private education but he's told me that every day was: get up, travel, school, travel, prep, go to bed. A bit of relief at weekends as long as he didn't have to go in Saturday morning. Half of Sunday was spent doing more prep.

He's grown up a bit of a loner.

inwood · 07/11/2019 10:18

I used to get a 30 minute train and then a bus about an hour door to door. It was fine and there were loads of us doing it. When I was at school overseas there were kids getting busses in from 1hr45 minutes away, there was no other option with schools. They al survived!

user1493494961 · 07/11/2019 10:24

People are posting here mostly from a UK perspective, you are overseas, if it's Australia, distances travelled can be far greater for the most routine of things.

PocketDictionary · 07/11/2019 10:29

An hour there and an hour back? Bonkers verging on cruel for a child age 5.

PocketDictionary · 07/11/2019 10:32

People are posting here mostly from a UK perspective, you are overseas, if it's Australia, distances travelled can be far greater for the most routine of things.

But OP says they will live in the city anyway and haven't finalised which suburb so it's not necessary it's a choice.

backinthebox · 07/11/2019 10:53

My DH has completely ruled out the local grammar schools for our DCs based on the fact that the journey time would be an hour. He had a journey that was just over an hour each way to school and he hated every minute of it. It meant he was never able to join any of the sports teams or clubs that took place after school as he would not be able to get home - the train did not stop at his village station after certain times, and his parents did not want to do the 2hr round trip drive to collect him. This hampered his friendships too. Unless you live halfway up a mountain, there's no real excuse for depriving your child of friends and hobbies at school in favour of a possibly better education. Most places have decent schools less than an hour away.

Hoppinggreen · 07/11/2019 10:56

It’s too far
When they start school at 5 they are usually exhausted by hometime anyway. Also, it would be a bit of a handicap to socialising with the other kids out of school

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 07/11/2019 11:00

My DC had 40 mins on school bus in the evenings 15mins in morning) It was the nearest school, and their journey wasn't the longest. They found it fine (although it wasn't unusual to see the reception kids and sometimes year 1 asleep in the afternoon!).

How long is the bus journey compared to how long it would take you in an emergency?

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