How far do children travel to selective secondary schools in London?

[valbona]

My DC are so young I am almost embarrassed to be asking this question ... but am curious so here goes. If you don't go for your local comprehensive for whatever reason, and can pay for / your kids can into a grammar/private school how far do they travel? 30 mins? 45 mins? an hour? I have a memory of a friend saying she had an hour and a half bus ride every morning to school which seems crazy to me, but is that in any way "normal"?
Thanks!

[Theas18]

When we chose secondaries (not in London, but another big city) we put a 1hr travel time as a maximum (that was 1hr for child to get self to school door to door, not by car).

As it is they leave at about 7.30 and arrive at school by 8.15. THey go at this time as it's when their mates get the bus and it allows time to use computers/library before school.

I drive to work most days at 7.40 and see kids on the road walking or awaiting buses to many local schools including the non selective ones so that is a very normal journey time round here.

Not getting in till 5.15 seems quite late, especially when you factor in after school activities etc at yr 7 but as they get older it'll get easier. Be aware homework will be done on the bus/in the car though - which is fine if the presentation and standard is acceptable !

[frankie4]

My dc has potentially got a 1 hr 15 min journey each way to his school. Won't get home till 5.15 pm. Is this mad to contemplate, even for a good school?

[shushpenfold]

My dh travelled over an hour to his independent school in south London - 2 buses worth. Our 3 travel over 30 mins to their school with me and as we're now rural, we have no choice in the matter. You get used to it.

[bigTillyMint]

It's not just children at super-selectives/private that travel in London - DD is at a super-difficult-to-get-into local comp which would be 10mins in the car (about 3 miles away?) but is 40mins on 2 buses or the same if she walks.
Friends at a local girls comp in a neighbouring borough travel 15mins on a direct bus route.

Friends at a super-selective-church school in a neighbouring borough travel an hour on a direct bus route.

[PhyllisDoris]

It's worth adding that some kids in rural areas travel for an hour to get to their nearest (catchment) school - ie not one their parents have "selected".
And you don't have to live very far away from a school as the crow flies for a a roundabout journey on a school bus with lots of pick up points to take an hour.

[Mominatrix]

DS1's school (prep) has a senior school attached (a superselective academic one) which he will probably continue onto. The school is 15 minutes by bicycle from us.

[Toomanychoices]

DD will be starting at a super selective grammar in September. She will be travelling for 30 min on the train with a 5 min walk from the station to the school. I think the journey is reasonable and I'm hopeful she will be ok with it.

[gazzalw]

DS about to go to a super-selective in September. The bus journey will take about 40 minutes on a bad day and possibly 20 on a very good day..... It's a straightforward journey though and was the reason why we settled for his second choice rather than holding out for his first choice which was a less convenient (and longer) route!

[sicutlilium]

DS1 will have a bus ride of about 30 mins when he starts senior school (in Y9) in September, but since the summer term of Y6 he has been getting the tube home from his present school - 45 mins including a change of line.

[valbona]

thanks v much for your answers!

[YourFanjoIsNotAHandbag]

My dd travels 40 minutes by bus.
My DS travels 10 minutes by bike.

There's a girl in DDs class who has an hours journey, one of the criteria for ds1 grammar school was under an hour by public transport, there was no journey time criteria for DDs school

There are also school pick up points for some grammars (not ours though)

[peteneras]

During my DD?s days there, I knew of girls who lived in the Peckham area of south London, SE15 postcode, travelling to North Finchley N12 to what is reputed to be the UK?s best Catholic school, St. Michael?s Catholic Grammar School - a school which can show even the nation's most revered public schools a trick or two. It's no wonder why these Peckham girls make the daily 3-hour commute for 7 years!

[BeingFluffy]

One of my children travels for an hour. If we got by car or she gets a lift from someone it is 45 mins (heavy traffic). She was quite tired at first but she is very resilient and has loads of energy. I think 45 mins is the absolute maximum ideally. Unfortunately it was a trade off for going to a very good selective school as opposed to a very rough comp where I think she would have been bullied. My other child can walk to school in 30 mins (uphill all the way including a very steep climb at the end) or gets the bus which is slightly shorter Both me and DH do long commutes up to 1.5 hours and absolutely hate it - it is horrible to inflict on a child.

[hardboiled]

It depends. I have heard of children travelling for an hour or more, which is too much IMO. On the other hand, they all seem to love the trip if they do it with friends or use the school coach. Myself I am a firm believer in living near the school, walking or cycling, getting the extra sleep in the morning, inviting friends around, etc. So I will move next to whatever school works out for DS even if I hate the area. It's only seven years Then he's off to uni and we are back to the area we really love.