school run distance

[neuroticwhome]

How far would you travel to the right school? I have recently been trying to find 'the right' prep school for dc and have been disappointed with my local options. None of the closest preps seem to fulfil all of my expectations and I am constantly changing my mind on which aspects of school life/education I am willing to compromise (especially as I'm paying for it). I am now wondering whether to travel a couple of extra miles, to have the option of some very good schools, that would seemingly offer my dc a more rounded school experience.

How far is too far for a school run? Should I just pick one of the local schools? Advice/experiences would be much appreciated.

we live 22.6 miles from school , it takes 30 mins each way ( rurla rea no traffic) i think it is worth it as it is by far the best school for my children, i would always put that top of prioirty list

Think about thick frost on January mornings-black ice-driving in the dark!

I'll be interested to know if any of the people who think that it's Ok to have long commutes to school have older children. Or have been doing it for long. I used to think it was OK too, when mine were little, but it's a very different picture now.

ANything more than a half hour walk

I did 18 miles for 6 weeks through January and February (a complicated house move-too complicated to explain)with a 5 month baby as passenger. It was hell-the 18 miles wasn't so bad to the school -but once we had dropped DS off we had 18 miles back-all to be repeated in the afternoon. Sometimes I just went to a friends for the day-I couldn't face it. If DS2 had been a toddler it would have been worse. We made sure that we bought a house with a five minute walk to school.(2 minutes if you ran!)

i am doing it with dd aged nearly 11 ( yr 6) and dd2 aged 6 ( yr 1) have been at it since dd1 was in reception and was still preggers with dd2.

I do 7 miles. Door to door takes around 15 minutes. It's fine but mainly because we live in a small development with other parents who send their children to the same schools, and there's complicated but doable liftshare arrangements

When you go to see the schools, ask them what they do in terms of helping you to find liftshares.

FWIW I'd always opt for the most appropriate school for my DCs. In our case the schools have a wide catchment area, and we do have to travel for playdates etc

DD's school is 3-4 miles away and takes about 10-15 minutes in the car depending on traffic. Route is directly on DH's work run so he passes it every morning regardless - he does the school drop.

DD still has lots of playdates and friends round, etc. We hve friends or go to a school friends once a fortnight or so now, was at least once a week when she was in infants.

DD still has lots of friends locally. They are just different friends, not school friends. She has spent a lot of this summer playing out on the cul de sac with the various neighbour's children and has some really good friends. She goes to Brownies locally too and knows girls from there.

Her other outside school activities are a drive away.

I son't think I would be wanting to do more than 2 minutes each way in a car - if it is hitting an hour's round trip it seems an awful lot to me. However, some of DD's school friends do it and are very very happy with it, so who knws.

Sorry but I am boggling beyond belief at driving 22 miles to school every day as Mummydoc does.

Have I read that right?

I live in a city so it's hard to imagine. 22 miles would take me to the next big city...and beyond it actually.

I guess if you are rural your choices are narrowed, but even so I would not want that school run. Five years of it then, hats off to you (I think).

Our school is a 20 minute drive away (14k) but generally the kids get the bus there and back.

Pros - it is an absolutely fantastic school that rather amazingly suits all three of my kids (aged 7-17), fees are affordable and because it goes from 3-18 I never have to choose another school again.

Cons - If I pick up I obviously have to leave earlier than if the school was over the road, which cuts into the day. DS2 in particular will always make friends with the kid to lives 30 minutes in the other direction to school so playdates tend to be limited to weekends and holidays.

There are much closer to schools, including a primary within 5 minutes walk which means automatic places around here, but having experienced a lot of crap schools I would take the right school over convenience any day.

clary - you did read right it is 22 miles each way . the school bus takes them 3 mornings a week, and dh does 1 afternoon pick up, and dgma ( darling grandma ) does 1 and i do the other 3, how we work this around fulltime jobs is logistically challenging - and my girls do have a long day but the school is worth it .

We ended up choosing the school that was further away (just under 30 mins each way) because it ticked all our other boxes and a year later I don't regret the decision because the school has been great for DS. That said, we delayed sending him there because when we first enquired there was no bus (one of the things that impressed us in choosing the school was that as a result of our enquiry they set up a bus, now very well used after a slow start).

Therefore DS gets the bus every morning. He can't always get it in the evenings because of extra curricular activities but it does mean I am not doing the drive every day and I have just started lift sharing with another parent so that should cut the runs down further.

Play dates are a bit more problematic but because the school day is so long (5pm finish, later if doing extra activities) it is not uncommon for dates to be limited to weekends or sleepovers in the week if there is not too much prep. It has also motivated DS to keep up with his old friends which he might not have done if the new ones were closer.

Overall I think the school run needs to be workable for your family, but if you ask the school they may well have suggestions to help make things easier.

We travel 7 miles but some children travel from up to about 10-12 miles away on the school bus.

It is actually better for me though becasue it is only a few miles from where I work so the drop off and pick up is easier

Take warning from me!

I know this comment is ten years old and you might not still be around on this page, but just want to say thanks for this. Really helping me make my mind up x