7 year old journey to school - advice needed.

[Herewegoagain84]

My daughter has got into an excellent school at 7+, which is great. However it would mean she would need to take a bus 45 mins+ in the morning and evening. The bus is shared with the senior school, so children up to 18.

I liked the school / it would be a great opportunity for her, and gives her a guaranteed place (all being well) for the senior school - but there is something that just isn’t sitting well with me. I also don’t know whether I’m happy to commit to the senior school when she’s so young (although appreciate the 11+ pressure would be removed).

My gut feel is I should leave her put, and keep her closer to home - then go for the 11+ at a range of schools once we know what would suit her better. The journey is so long for such a little one, when she could be doing an after school activity / play dates etc. BUT am I doing her a disservice by not taking up this great offer?

Any insights appreciated!!

Was this due to the A3 going 3 lanes to 1? Usually the coaches are absolutely on time (they have to otherwise it wouldn’t work for pick ups and drop offs). Unless it’s the Hampton Court Flower Show and then I’m tempted to bin school altogether! There won’t necessarily be juniors getting off at each stop (on our bus there are 3 but others there are 12!) so I wouldn’t worry about the getting in or off aspect as you’ll be there!

I would also say I’m quite a worried and anxious mum and would do anything (too much!) to avoid my kids having any difficult or worrying experiences and they both go on the bus!

My daughter had a 30 -40 mins school bus journey since year 3 (age 7). I did too since age 5. We prioritised school over location even though she had the option of a very good local school too (both independent). It's not a big deal really. She had time to unwind on the bus as she got older, chat up with friends etc. She survived and is a fresher at Cambridge now. Incidentally her brother went to a local prep school. The school run traffic is so bad in the area (Hampstead) that it took him around the same time to get to school. 🤪

I think I’d be ok with 30-40 mins, but this seems like it’ll be a minimum of 1 hour plus each way (we’ve watched the bus arrive the last three days, and it’s been 20-30 mins late each time… on top of the 45 min stated journey time). So double your DD’s trip! Thank you for your perspective though - glad to hear it worked out well, even from 7. Did you find you felt out of touch with the school in terms of not being at the gate each day to catch a quick chat etc?

My parents put me on such a school bus at age 9. I was permanently shattered and missed out on so much.

Anyone on this thread claiming their child has such a journey and loves it means their child is making the best of it. The child would rather not have the journey.

I would also say that if the bus journey is advertised as 45 minutes in the evening, it will be well over an hour in the morning due to rush hour traffic. That means your child will be consistently late for school, which they might be fine with, but many will find unsettling.

I barely trust my 7 year old to go upstairs on her own so the idea of a 45 minute bus journey, twice a day makes me shudder. Older ones will be loud, swearing, scary, etc. not a chance would I do it

What happens if she has something after school-rehearsals or matches? What if she's ill and needs to be collected? What about going to a friend for tea? Completely unworkable IMHO.

I appreciate you may not have liked it but I did it from 7 as well and loved it! The advertised times are generally always correct and they’ve been operating for years and know the traffic. It won’t work if kids are late or not at the stop at the right time.

In defence of LEH Jrns, LEH and Hampton etc, the location is very suburban, the nearer train station is 15-20 min walk etc. The 2 schools operate a massive coach network to bring students from all over london, Surrey, out to ascot, down to Leatherhead etc to their schools. This is taken into account when fixing logistics etc, LEH also operate a limited late coach service to some stops at an extra cost.

My two year old does a 45min car journey each way, and she's fine.

I did not feel out of touch with the school at all, as I was working in the City so never did any of the school runs anyway, but also the school organised a lot of social events. Schools that operate a bus network tend to attract students from a wide area so there’s not much school gate action. It’s not like a prep or local school.

Also do not underestimate the stress and competition of the 11+ process. So if LEH is your target school and you are not aspiring for something else, get in now.

Just a thought, by why would people spend all that money for their DDs to avoid the local state schools, only to have them turn out loud, swearing and scary anyway?

Or is the schools apparent reputation as the modern equivalent of St Trinian's the actual attraction?