If your dc travels more than 45 mins each way to secondary......

[marialuisa]

....how do they find it and do they fit in much other than homework during the week? I grew up in a rural area and travelled to school but by the time homework became significant in Y9/10 I'd given up pretty much all extra-curricular stuff.

DD does a couple of activities that require a lot of time (e.g. has her own pony) and I'm concerned how she'll fit it all in when she goes to senior school (where they give them approx 60 mins a night for the next day right from the start). Don't want her having a breakdown or doing badly simply through lack of time/exhaustion but equally think it's important to do "other stuff" .

Hi marialuisa - longtime no talk! How are things with you and dd? What HS is she going to? (PM me.)

The boys don't have far to go, but they leave home at 7.45 and school doesn't start til 8.40. (Slow local transport).

Most of their activities now are school-based, so they do things at school in the lunchtimes and after school.

IMO being busy means they just have to be more organised and efficient with their time. ds1 (nearly 14 now) does very little "extra" - [or very little that I count - ie plays yu-gi-oh at a club for about 3 hrs one evening and 6 hrs at weekend ] - is very inefficient with his time and spends a lot of time slobbing around.

ds2 (12) on the other hand is very busy with lots of music, choirs, etc., and he just packs more in. Doesn't have time to prevaricate about homework, just cracks on and gets it sorted!

Do they really give that much (60 min) right from yr7? Definitely the load is a lot lighter at our local state HS. Everyone I ask is adament that local Year-6s in state schools get much more Hwork than Y7-9.

My DC travelled for over an hour each way to and from school so they could go to a "good" one. With hindsight, I would not make the same choice again - it is difficult for them to see friends because they are not local and it is almost impossible for them to do after school activities as there is simply not time (they leave for school at 7am and arrive home at 5pm with 2 hours homework to fit in). I reckon they would both have been better off somewhere local, with extra tuition if necessary. They would have been happier and able to participate in more music/ sport. They are both straight A* students so that part of the plan worked but even so i would not recommend it as a strategy especially as now university entrance seems to look at how you do relative to others at your school so going to a less academic school might have given them better chances.

Dd3's journey is an hour door-to-door which is normal for secondary if you have to rely on public transport! She is ready for after-school activities by 5.00 (football, drama, tap, guides etc) Homework is usually done about 8.00 or on the train the next morning . We don't generally eat as a family until about 9.00. She is year 8 now and I have to admit it was a trial to get her up each morning in y7. Now she is familiar with the routine she's fine. They adapt better than we think they are going to!

If the boys went to the local school (round the corner and a shorter school day and less homework!) their "out of the house day" would be 2 hours shorter.

Unlike tooposh, I have never regretted the decision for a momentary instant. The grades they will get are unlikely to be very different (if at all), but there's a lot more to education/school than the final grades.

Thanks for your views. DH and I both work in HE so not worried about University entrance, can imagine she may go overseas anyway but very worried about having an exhausted daughter

Roisin-will PM you. Nice to see you too! Hope your boys are well.

they need to be organised or they end up copying homework from someone else either on the bus or at school.

There are other problems with long distance travel. If they are ill you have a long journey to pick them up. In bad weather they are less likely to get to school. It is increasingly expensive, not all authorities provide free travel. In rural areas there is often very little choice, unfortunately.

DS leaves at 6.45 not home til 5.30 train permitting. It has taken two years but he finally learned to do the homework on the train (am and pm) and in morning and lunch breaks. He get lots of homework - v. academic school and this is the only solution. Otherwise you get an exhausted hysterical child trying to finish homework at 9pm.
What I had to accept is that at home all he wants to do is play computer games, not learn the trumpet or play chess etc.

Well my DD walks about 1 hour each way, and although she complains about having no time (with a busy extra-curricula life) she does watch TV etc. So I think there is plenty of wriggle room yet. She leaves at 7:30, and gets back about 4 :15, her brother walks faster so has a shorter commute.

DD's big complaint is the time she has to get up every morning.

I did this. Left at 7.30am, in school 9-4, did afterschool clubs 2/3 nights a week so sometimes didn't get in until 7.30pm if train was late (which it was a lot). Very academic school so up to 3hrs homework per night. I refused to do any after 9pm, was just so exhausted. It can be done but I had ZERO social life (which probably made time for homework/activities so balanced out) but I would NEVER put my DCs through this.

DS does this. He leaves the house at 6.50 and gets in at 4.20. He had one and a half hours of homework a night in year 7. He gave up some out of school activities because he was too tired, not because he didn't have the time. He now does 2 after school activities at school. He still has plenty of time to play with friends.

DD does a lot of out of school activities, and if she goes to the same school I expect she will do even more because she will do some at the school, after school.

darleneoconnor Why do you feel so strongly about this? Am interested to know what you feel you lost out on compared to to what you gained.

I used to do some homework at lunchtime. Also remember getting up early to do some before school. I did a lot of extra curricular stuff, was out most evenings. Journey to school was about 50 min walk or buses or a 20 min cycle. once in upper school I cycled most days as it gave me more flexibility.