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

[jazzandh]

The 20 minutes or so that we commute to school in the car is actually quite a pleasant time. We talk, practice spellings/times tables - DS's are a captive audience at this time. We get to school early so that Ds's have time to run around first and let of steam that would be taken up with a brisk walk to school.

Where we live, children go to a variety of schools, so neighbourhood children all mix together at weekends and in the holidays. My DS is quite happy with the split social life...I think he sees enough of his classmates all day!!

[Mintyy]

3 minute walk

[Thingymajigs]

Currently a 25 min walk. Used to be an hour when they were 4.
I'm now about to move house and ds2 does not want to change primary schools in year 5 so it'll be a 2 min walk, 30 minute bus journey and a 20 min walk. I figure that its only for 18 months or so and its worth it as he's so happy there.

[GampyWabbit]

10 min walk, or 2 min drive. This is very handy for the many times we are running late, or I need to pop x,y & z to school, that have been left behind. We love walking to and from school with friends too.

How can you be sure you would get a place at a school 30min drive away?

[Fuzzymum1]

5 minute walk - being able to walk was important to us. If the wind is in the right direction I can hear the children at playtime.

[HometownUnicorn]

one mile
takes 20mins on foot in the morning when we're going at a pace
more like 30 in the evening when dd1 is knackered

I drive 3 mornings though because of work. the drive, fannying about parking and walk at the other end probably takes 15 mins, so we save very little time on the school run, although it saves me 20mins on the drive to work.

[TheRobberBride]

I drive DD to a village school 5 miles away
It wouldn't have been my first choice but as we moved on June, the local schools were full and this is where the council found us a place.

The drive takes 12 minutes if there's no traffic and 20+ if there is (there always is in the morning!) It's a bit of a PITA but it's not too bad. I'm thinking of enrolling DD in the breakfast club which might mean we miss the worst of the traffic.

I do worry what I'll do if we have a bad winter though. The country roads will be a nightmare in the snow.

[lljkk]

2 hours of driving a day would be like £15-£30 a day on my cars (including wear-n-tear). Time and cost too much.

[BackforGood]

7mins walk.
I'd have to have really, really, really good reasons to add a long distance travel onto the school day if it wasn't the only option.
Don't forget, at present you are probably thinking of how you will manage next year, but this will be fore 7 years, not one(if you only have 1 child, longer of course if you have, or are intending to have more).
As they get older, they start doing things after school- complicate with more than one child if you have that length of journey.
At some point over the next 7 years, if's perfectly likely that you will be unable to drive for one reason or another - a broken limb or an operation or 101 other reasons. With a local school, other parents help each other out and take and fetch your child for you- you won't get that in the further school.
Then there's snow, road works, car breakdown or accident or general running repairs.
Of course, that's *2 hours" of your day, EVERY DAY you will spend driving to and from the school not counting other things you get asked to go into during the day

Only you will know if the further school is worth all that, but it's not something I'd enter into lightly.

[Pinkpinot]

20-30 minute drive
5.5 miles
I thought I'd get really sick of it, but it's ok

[Barbabeau]

It's a 2 minute walk, which is good as we've a tendency to be disorganised in the morning.