School buses from east side of Bath - Kings Edwards school and other options

[Bathnewbie2017]

Hi All,
We are looking at school bus options from the east side of Bath i.e. Batheaston, Box (and beyond) for private schools in Bath. I understood King Edwards used to have a bus service running into Bath from the east but I heard they might have dropped the service but it wasn't clear. Seems unlikely given the congestion etc. Anyone know if it is running and if not are there other schools running buses in for the east? Thanks for any suggestions/info.

Just phone the school and ask (they won't mind).

I think the bus from Corsham/Box stopped running in 2016/17 (and parents were talking about whether it was easier to lift-share/get a bus).

Once you get to a KES school (North Road or Pre-prep) or the train station, there are shuttle buses. There are plenty of parents living over in Bathford/Corsham (fewer in Batheaston and Box, but that might just be our intakes).

The biggest challenge (and it will apply to any remotely sporty/musical school) is that the children often choose clubs that start at 8/finish at 5 or 5:30. Then there are the weekend sports fixtures at the senior school and various drama productions.....

Luckily most parents are happy to share contact details online via the school portal so arrangements can be made.

A few families that can't sort things out amongst themselves hire childminders to ferry their children about. There are also an army of trainee Norland nannies in Bath.

In terms of transport links, the indie schools deeper into Somerset/Wiltshire are probably keener to transport children from local villages.

I contacted the school and they confirmed the service has stopped and got a vague reply that they were looking into renewing it but it wasn't clear at all. Now I have spoken to other parents and it is clear there is a demand but it seems the school is stalling on making a decision and brushing them off by saying they are looking into it but no evidence to suggest they are.

I went to the school at drop off and pick up times to check it out - what a mess, real congestion problem, especially in Cleveland Walk. Strange the school aren't interested in addressing this.

I interpret this as they don't really care about contributing to congestion, nor listening to the concerns of the parents or considering their local neighbourhood. Not impressed