what's ypur primary school commute?

[bigwellylittlewelly]

DD1 is due to start school next Sept. We have found two schools we quite like, one is a five/ten minute drive and in good weather a bike commuteand the other a half hour drive.

There are v good reasons for this other more distant school but I just wonder if its too far at the start and end of a school day? DH is also moaning about petrol costs.

Thanks in advance

[Banderchang]

5 minute drive followed by a 10 minute walk. School is in a very residential area with limited parking, so I park in my work carpark nearby and we walk. School and home are also on the same bus route, so that'll be an option in the snow.

[elvisola]

3 miles away, 15 minutes in the car

[magichamster]

We have a 10 minute walk.

I would second what others have said on here about thinking what would happen if you didn't have a car for any reason. Our 5 year old vw had a major mechanical fault last year which meant it was off the road for well over a month and due to the nature of the problem we couldn't have a courtesy car. We live in a rural area and the next nearest schools are all at least 5 miles away down small country lanes. There is no way I could have got them to school.

[PatriciaHolm]

5 min walk. Most people live within walking distance at our primary.
OP, if the schools are state schools, have you confirmed you could get a place at the much further one? State schools tend to go on distance when admitting and very few would go as far as 30 mins drive away for reception! (religious and academy schools may differ)

[noramum]

We walk 20 minutes or drive 5 minutes.

We used to send DD to a nursery, driving 4 days a week 20 minutes each way and then a 3-4 minutes walk.

We did this as we moved houses but wanted to keep DD the last year in her nursery and our new area didn't have anything available.

I was so glad when that year was over. Driving in every weather condition, in traffic jams, in traffic work, de-icing the car in the morning. I had enough.

If you think the drive is 30 minutes, did you actually drive during the school run times? Most areas are easily double the time you need to the traffic at that time. Definitely test-drive before you think further. The route to DD's nursery was 20 minutes early in the morning and nearly 45 minutes 1 hour late when the school run was on.

[fedupwithdeployment]

less than 5 mins walk to an excellent primary round the corner. Most children live within 10 mins walk - it is in London.

We used to live elsewhere and it was a mile to the school (DS1 in reception) and that was ok...took about 20 minutes walk. But prior to that they were in nursery about 5 miles away - took up to half an hour and was an expensive pain in the backside. The nursery was excellent, but I was delighted when the period of our lives ended.

As for petrol costs - we were filling up the car once every 10 days or so. Approx £70. Now weeks go by without us filling the car. In fact once we didn't touch it for 3 weeks. The clubs are all cycling distance, and often we go into London on tube at weekends....we are delighted at the petrol savings!

Unless the other school was massively better, I would go with the nearer one.

[lougle]

1.7 miles - 2-3 minute drive.

[icecubed]

I honestly think having friends you see every day at school to play with and interact with is a massive bonus of living close to school
I have a better group of friends now too - lots of Mums from school are good friends and I am not sure that would happen if I jumped into the car everyday instead of hanging round the park for 10 minutes!

[Spookey80]

5-10 one walk and dd has started in reception this week and I feel it has really helped her settle with it being just down the road.
We walk past it al the time, all the local kids she knows go there so it feels that much less scary. Also it has helped with the silly settling period that they have at the beginning when I have had to make 3 trips a day as also have ds at the attached pre-school.

[bigwellylittlewelly]

Thanks for the input, there really are very good reasons for choosing the school (its not private) and we would get a place because what we like in a school seems to be unpopular with the majority of parents.

I do take on board the driving comments, we currently commute 40min each way to work and nursery which is frustrating in the winter.

I don't think the closer school is walkable, definitely cycle able but because of roads would be v quick in the car.

[MogTheForgetfulCat]

5-10 minute drive or 25-30 minute walk. Up a blardy big hill, though, so more often drive up and walk home.

[spiderlight]

Ten minute walk. Worth the world in terms of impromptu invitations to tea after school and so forth, and it means my DS, who's an only child, has made lots of friends locally.

[noblegiraffe]

20 minute walk. DS has only just started, and from looking at the parking chaos at pick up and drop off times I'm so glad I'm not part of it!

[Biscuitsneeded]

3 minutes by bike. Almost nobody drives; everyone walks, scoots or cycles and it is lovely feeling part of the local community and chatting on the way in and out. I think it would be very odd to drive for 30 minutes to primary - surely no school is THAT good? And even if it is fantastic, your child will not have local friends, and will miss out on so much. It's not just the daily commute. You'd be jeopardising play dates after school (no parent will want to drive 30 mins out to you to pick up their child, and if your child goes to them you'll be doing that drive in rush hour, and if you have other children you might be doing that drive twice over unless you have a play date for them too). Nobody would be able to help you out with lifts if you ever couldn't do the school run. When you child wants to go to the school disco, or is in the school concert, or the school play, or another evening event, or you need to go to a parent teacher meeting, you'll be needing to do that drive 4 times in one day. When your child leaves Y6 what will you do? Put her back in a school local to you where she knows nobody, or continue with another remote school where there may not be a place and her social life will be all the more constrained by living miles from all her friends/activities. I think you're being naive. What's do-able for nursery, while your child is still very much under your full control and not ready to make her own choices, will not still be do-able a few years from now.

[Biscuitsneeded]

Just out of curiosity, what is it you like about the school that is unpopular with other parents and means you have a good chance of getting a place?

[JessePinkmansBitch]

2.5 miles away and a 10 minute drive away. Although we will be moving at some point and won't move schools so will more than likely have a half hour commute.

[GhoulWithADragonTattoo]

So you've managed to find an undersubscribed school which you're prepared to drive 30 mins for? That seems unlikely. If you like it enough to undertake a mammoth commute I would think other closer to it would like it too. Only poor schools admit people from 30 mins away as a rule. What do you like that other parents don't?

[bigwellylittlewelly]

I asked about childrens commute, not about whether the school situation is likely or not. The school is a small rural village school, it has a range of benefits which would suit my child because of her disabilities and unfortunately is not well thought of by most parents who send their children elsewhere.

I however like it. A lot. I also like HE and a more European approach to schooling - does that seem 'unlikely' too?

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

The big question is really, if she gets sick at school how needy is she?

I don't mean that in a nasty way, just that some kids will be happy stay with the school nurse. Others will really really want mummy and the 45 min rush lunch hour traffic and the journey back could be a bit much,

[MrsBungle]

Our school is 3 miles away about an 8 or 9 minute drive. Works fine for us. Loads of people drive to ours as the village school serves children in surrounding villages too.

[Biscuitsneeded]

If it's absolutely the best school for her, is there any chance you could live any closer to it? I know that sounds drastic, but seven years of commuting and stress adds up...

[nextyearitsbigschool]

10 minute drive in no traffic, 30 minutes in traffic. This is slightly annoying but it's a good school. Lots of children travel this long and all the clas live within a 20 minute drive of our house with several in walking distance. In 8 years of school runs there has never been an issue with not having a car, no issues with arranging playdates and no problem with doing clubs. Have done the local school thing and walking 250 metres to school and the convenience didn't outweigh it being the wrong school.

[Hulababy]

DD's primary was about 3 miles away, a 10 minute drive. not affected by traffic at school run time particularly either. Several of DD's friends drove about 30-40 minutes or so. They were never really affected by it tbh though and they all still had plenty of friends round after school, etc.

Our nearest school was a mile away. Would have been a 5 minute drive away but parking difficult, or a 20 minute walk each way.

[LtEveDallas]

10-15 minute drive on a very fast/busy A Road. It's only 3 miles away, but may as well be 30 miles for the inconvenience and lack of close by school friends. DD feels left out and lonely quite a lot.

Irritatingly we also have a primary school 500m from our from door - but it was full.