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Original poster

More than a quarter of children are driven to school every day. Does this seem high to you?

34 replies

MrsMuddle · 01/05/2009 10:53

Here.

It's great that slightly more than 50% of children walk or cycle to school, but I'm quite shocked about the amount that are driven.

OP posts:
Quattrocento · 01/05/2009 10:55

The DC's school is seven miles away from home. It's impossible to walk or cycle. Sorry if this meets with your disapproval.

thisisyesterday · 01/05/2009 10:56

actually I'd have thought it was a lot more.

i'd imagine that even if you're close to school a lot of parents do the drop off on their way to work. and, like Quattro, many just don't have a choice.

so, I'm quite pleasantly surprised that over half of children walk/cycle. it certainly isn't the case round here

Original poster
MrsMuddle · 01/05/2009 10:56

Posted too soon - I mean to add that this is a Scottish survey, and the vast majority of children go to the school they are in the catchment area for ie, a very local school. And if that school is more than a mile away, the local authority provides transport.

So, to put it into context, most of these car journeys will be for distances of under a mile.

OP posts:
coppertop · 01/05/2009 11:00

"It indicated that 2.8% of pupils cycled to work, with 48.3% walking."

Personally I'm more shocked that so many children in Scotland are being sent out to work.

On a slightly more serious note surely it depends a lot on the location of the school and the size of the catchment area?

Original poster
MrsMuddle · 01/05/2009 11:00

Quattrocento, of course I don't disapprove of a seven mile journey (although, if you got up early enough... )

OP posts:
madwomanintheattic · 01/05/2009 11:03

lol, they might drop off their kids half a mile down the road and then drive the next 20 miles to work... like i do. i haven't got time to do two separate walking/ cycling drop-offs in two towns and then go home before i leave for work

thisisyesterday · 01/05/2009 11:04

dunno, I know a couple of people in scotland who have to drive, due to distance. same as anywhere really isn't it?

Peachy · 01/05/2009 11:09

It's far more at our school, simply due to qwhere the kids come from, mostly those of us that walk can but for many that would an hour or more up a very steep (and dangerous in wet weather I have found to my cost!) hill.

It depends entirely on the school and where the children come from.

However parking is a nightmare here- tiny narrow old village- and the school attempt at a walking bus from the village edge (parents need not accompany) was met with total disinterest which I thought was a shame. I've witnessed twoa ccidents on the road here (it also feeds a University so is V V busy at that time), one serious and one involving my ds3 but a lucky escape, and a school walking bus would have helped enormously.

I walk, btw. As it's under 3 minutes woulod be bizarre not to, but I know someone closer who has driven at times, despite it being over a mile around the one way system and then gone home.

Peachy · 01/05/2009 11:11

CT- PMSL

I think mine should get jobs. Today.

christmasmum · 01/05/2009 11:14

I live in Scotland and my 'local' catchment school is 7 miles away down a country road with no verges and regular lorries going up and down it to our charming landfill site.

I think most people are pretty sensible and not necessarily lazy and they have to do what their circumstances dictate.

Also, have you not heard of the weather up here?!

Hotcrossbunny · 01/05/2009 11:14

No. It sounds on the low side IME. If children got a place at their local/nearest school it would help...

Niecie · 01/05/2009 11:19

Seems on the low side to me. We have quite a small catchment but I think there is a lot of dropping off on the way to work which means that there are a lot of cars.

They have been reduced by introducing a school bus scheme which seems to have about 100 children on it so about 15-20% of children arrive this way. On that basis 25% driving to school seems very low if you add those children to all the others that arrive by car.

Original poster
MrsMuddle · 01/05/2009 11:23

OK, OK, I stand corrected. I was thinking of our school which is in a town centre, and no parking nearby.

Hotcrossbunny - that was the point of my post. The vast majority of children do go to their local school here. Parents need to put in a placing request to go anywhere other than the local school.

Christmasmum, does your local authority not provide transport? I thought they had school buses/taxis in rural areas.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 01/05/2009 11:24

the quarter is just by car. nearly half were driven overall.

Saint2shoes · 01/05/2009 11:34

dds school is 16 miles awya so she goes on the sn bus
neither ds's primary or secondry were near enough to walk to, primary was not on a bus route, and secondry the bus was full of thugs,
so I drove him

ThePellyandMe · 01/05/2009 11:51

We walk most of the time, but loads don't. It's on the edge of the catchment area it serves now so it is quite a walk.

My next door neighbour used to drive when the school was less than a 5 minute walk away. It took him longer to drive and park than me to walk there

Lancelottie · 01/05/2009 12:00

In our family one-third of children travel to school by car every day.

The other two walk.

frasersmummy · 01/05/2009 12:07

The article actually says the 47% are driven on a bus or a car

so the actual percentage of cars may be lower than this

so if you are going to judge us lazy scots.. at least judge us on th correct stats

GrapefruitMoon · 01/05/2009 12:08

I too am surprised that the number going by car isn't higher.

I was very bemused today to see a "walking bus" going down our road - I had seen it before but not close enough to see what school they were heading for.... and it turns out that they walk past two other perfectly good local schools to get there!

I am all for parental choice, etc, etc but it is becoming a real issue in our town - children are not able to get into the school on the same street as them and the children who do get in (due to sibling rule) often live quite far away ( and have other good schools closer to them). It is compounded by the fact that there are lots of single-form entry schools so the whole town seems to have families criss-crossing each other en route to school....

LissyGlitter · 01/05/2009 12:10

It REALLY annoys me when I walk past my old primary school and see all the tiny tiny little children being picked up in massive people carriers. I know some people need people carriers (ie my mum lives with my grandad and he can only get into a high up seat, plus she regulary transports more than 5 people) but not THAT many!

Lmccrean · 01/05/2009 12:12

I live 4 mins walk from school, but 3 neighbours drive their kids to school, then drive home again. I find it really bizarre. Not particularly busy road or anything and I manage to bring 6 kids up and down the road without bother. Ok, it sucks doing it in high winds and rain, but its the main exercise some of the mindees get outside of school

I did get lifts to high school, which was about 40 mins walk away, cause my mum worked next door to it. I walked, or got bus most of way home.

Ripeberry · 01/05/2009 12:14

I would LOVE to walk to school, but the fact that we have a tiny badly maintained footpath next to a very busy road with huge lorries then most parents around here drive even though we are in the countryside.
Also, parents drop off and go to work so don't have time for walking.
Its all rush, rush, rush

Ripeberry · 01/05/2009 12:18

Also, it is just over a mile away. Walked it once when the car would not start and it took us just over 25 mins to walk.
Terrifying trying to cross the main road with no footpath and lorries inches from our noses!

Ivykaty44 · 01/05/2009 12:18

Was there a reason your mum couldn't walk to work and you walked with her instead of getting a lift? Lmcrean

BarefootShirl · 01/05/2009 12:22

DD & DS do to different schools and nearest is 3 miles. We are not on a viable bus route so the only practical way is to drive. I would much prefer them to be nearer and to walk - as I would too - but it just doesn't work for us.

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