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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

How long does it take your DC to get to School/College?

33 replies

magentadreamer · 30/08/2012 10:03

We have two 6th Form Colleges in town. Both within walking distance or a short bus ride. DD has now found a 6th form college in a town which would mean an hours bus journey in the morning and again in the evening. Due to finish times DD would probably get back home for 6pm. I could pick her up at least once a week. DD presently has a journey time to School of 5 minutes.

OP posts:
BooksandBrunch · 30/08/2012 11:26

My 11 yr old ds currently has a ten minute journey which will increase to one hour each way come next week. I know of dc who will be doing 1hr 20 mins each way for Grammars. From my experience you'll get 2 type of responses based on peoples values.

Some people are very community geared and think it's outrageous to travel outside of their communities for their kids education. And there are others who are more results driven and the schools previous results take priority, making distance in getting there their least priority.

You have to decide what camp you're in.

I personally travelled an hour to get to my school and feel I benefited confidence wise from meeting new people outside of the area, which is why I guess, I have no qualms in my ds travelling for the same amount of time. Equally my nephew has travelled for an hour for all of his secondary school life and is now looking for something more local 6th form wise, whereas I would still encourage him to travel to the best college he is eligible for. Indeed, great results can be achieved in even poor preforming establishments, my aim however is to increase the probability of decent grades based on the school/college's previous results.

An0therName · 30/08/2012 12:04

Personally IF it was a much better 6th form it would be fine - I mean that there were very good reasons for wanting to move -
I traveled about that for 6th form and it was no problem - I got in about 5.15 though - does mean though that any out of school things will be more difficult and if she make friends in the next town she will be want to see them at weekends as well

roisin · 30/08/2012 12:20

I think the 1hr journey dos not automatically rule it out. But it depends how regular the buses are, and how far she has to walk at either end as well.

At the end of the day chilling out on the bus, can be quite a good way to de- stress. 6pm home time does limit opportunities for part-time jobs though.

roisin · 30/08/2012 12:20

*does

AllPastYears · 30/08/2012 12:29

My kids (12 and 14) go to a school which is about an hour away by public bus _ waiting for bus/walking. They do this maybe 2x a week though. Sometimes they get a school bus, which takes about 25 min (plus a bit of waiting time), and a couple of times a week they get a lift home.

They had the option of a closer school but weren't bothered about the distance, and they don't seem to be bothered now.

It can be a pain when there are extra-curricular things that finish late, parents evenings etc., but maybe there's not so much of that at 6th form?

Myliferocks · 30/08/2012 12:38

They go by dedicated school bus which takes about 50 minutes but if we drive straight to the school it only takes about 15.
Eldest goes to college and has a 10 minute walk to the bus stop and then a 35 minute bus ride. The bus drops off right at college.
In the evening the younger ones get home about 4.45 and the eldest gets home about 6 depending on her timetable.

BackforGood · 30/08/2012 12:47

dd (just going in to Yr9) walks and sets off an hour before she needs to be in for registration, and arrives home anywhere between 50mins and an hour and a half after school finishes. She could do it in quite a lot less if she wanted, but I think the strolling along with your friends, putting the world to rights is quite an important part of the day.
I certainly wouldn't have a problem with an hour's bus journey, as long as the buses were frequent enough / timed well to be able to get the next one if she misses the first one IYSWIM. Particularly so at 6th form level - that could, after all, easily be a commute to work. I'm surprised that lessons go on so late at a 6th form college though.

CrocodileDundee · 30/08/2012 12:53

I think it is totally fine at that age.

My 11 year old has started a school that takes about 45 mins for her to get to/home from including getting a bus (public not school) then a walk, and she is managing fine. Her primary school was literately a block away so it's been a big change.

SecretSquirrels · 30/08/2012 14:58

DS just about to start at 6th form college. It's about 20 minutes away by car but his bus journey will be just over an hour. It is the nearest but also his preferred choice.
It will be a long day, he plans to do some work on the bus Hmm.
His secondary school was 10 minutes by car and 20-30 minutes by dedicated school bus.

MordionAgenos · 30/08/2012 15:18

DD1 - about to go into Y10 - has about 1 hour 15 mins each way. Hour on the bus, 15 mins walking to the stop and from the stop at the other end. DS and DD2 go to schools about 20 mins away by car. When I was a kid, my secondary school was about 15 mins by car, 35 mins walking (if you cut through the park and the woods and walked along the railway line) or maybe 1 hour 15 mins by bus, due to the way the buses were routed.

Theas18 · 30/08/2012 22:32

We set a limit if about an hour travel time each way when choosing at age 11. At 16 I would think up to 90 mins absolute Max door to door would be ok as long as it is the students choice to go there and the route (public transport out walking) is busy and safe-remember 6 pm on a winter night is pretty dark and horrid, add to that an hour or so for rugby training, orchestra or what ever, then it's pretty late.

Kez100 · 30/08/2012 22:40

1 hour 10 mins each way and a public bus which gets her home at 6.45 at night (even though college finishes at 3.45!) and having left at 7 in the morning but it is a specialist college, was extremely competitive entry, and she really wants to go there. The time waiting she can spend in the building studying, so it won't be wasted.

Big committment though.

SandStorm · 30/08/2012 22:47

45 minutes door to door. Walk to the station, three stops on the train, walk up the hill to school.

Yellowtip · 30/08/2012 23:01

7 minutes by car (sheep/ tractor dependent). Or 30 minutes by school bus, plus a few minutes walk the other end.

My own journey used to take 40 minutes by olden days car (this rarely happened). Or two hours by bus/bus/walk or bus/train/walk.

Original poster
magentadreamer · 31/08/2012 08:33

Thanks for all the replies.I just wanted a bit of reassurrance that others thought it was do able. There wouldn't be much of a walk from bus stops as the bus that goes from the here stops outside the college. Getting home DD could get a bus to a small village which then has a direct train route - they run every half hour and this would shave some time of the journey.

DD found the college while doing some PSHE homework -they had to research colleges they'd like to apply for. DD hopes to study Sciences and they have a fantastic rep for Science plus DD could do Geology. They have an open morning pretty soon so we can see what it's like and I think we might go up on the bus so she can see if being a comuter is for her.

OP posts:
takeonboard · 31/08/2012 13:17

11yr old 35 minutes tube and walk, I think that is long enough but he has one of the shortest journeys in his class!

Xenia · 31/08/2012 13:57

Daughter 1 at age 5 took a coach to Haberdashers and the door to door journey was an hour. It was doable. It was a school coach with nice helpers on it and a good atmosphere. It worked out fine. The last 2 children have been a 3 minute walk literally from prep school which has been much easier of course but you have to do what feels best at the time. Daughter 1 earning over £60k in mid 20s (and all her othr nice good features) may be in part due to that good education from age 5.

TalkinPeace2 · 31/08/2012 20:32

For many children in rural areas, journeys of over an hour are the norm - even on dedicated school transport

catinboots · 31/08/2012 20:37

Very rural area. DS gets a loft about 50% of the time. If not:

Leaves home at 7.25am. Walks down dark lane with torch in winter (100m?) to residential roads. Bus comes at 7.35am.

Bus arrives at school at 8.00am. School starts at 8.30am.

We are very lucky. It's a grammar school and the next nearest one would have meant him getting a 7am bus!!!

catinboots · 31/08/2012 20:37

lift not loft

angelinterceptor · 31/08/2012 20:40

My DS gets a bus at 7:40 for school which starts at 8.45am - there are nearer schools, but he picked this.
At home time, its quicker as they put on an express bus just for our village as there are so many boys and girls attending school in the city. So he is normally home by 4pm if no after school activities

TheWalkingDead · 31/08/2012 20:49

Don't have DCs at school yet, but I went from a 10-15 minute bus journey to get to secondary school, to a 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minute bus journey to and from college and I would get home at about 6pm.

Eve · 31/08/2012 20:52

DS1 less than 30seconds if he dawdles, we live across the road. Putting up with inconsiderate parental parking every day is pay-off for the benefit of living so close.

DS2 5mins drive but I dropof and pick up on way to / from work.

BonzoDooDah · 31/08/2012 21:41

I had a half hour bus ride to school and while the journey itself was no problem the social side of things was. I'd urge your DD to consider who her friends are going to be and where they are going to live. Sixth Form is a great time to step up on socaial occasions as everyone is that little bit older and given that bit more freedom. Inviting friends home for lunch or to drop in after college is a really nice way to chill out. If her new friends live near her school then she's not going to be able to drop in and out of their houses so well in the evenings as she will always feel the pressure of getting home - coming home so much later will be a complete faff (bus services start tailing off the later the evening gets) and if she misses any buses it will be a very long day.
This also applies with or without friends - any little delay on the way home (late leaving / missed connection etc etc means getting home later and later - which then impacts on how much time she has in the evenings to be studying. 6pm as a usual get home time is quite late imo when she has a lot of 6th form studying to do.
Then, if the friends are also going to be travelling a similar distance to school there will be very little after school contact without great negotiations. (very quiet life)
If the friends are going to be the ones she made in Senior school then she's going to arriving home at least an hour later than them and so will miss out on the homework hour / after school chat and will only be able to see them at weekends or on a late night.
I know your DD is probably thinking the school is everything but it is quite isolating being so distant from friends every single day.

So just how sociable is your DD, how easily does she make friends and how much effort does she want to put into maintaining these relationships? Just things to consider besides the stunning academic record. If you're going to be unhappy and not so included in social circles for two years is it worth it? If she thinks yes then great.

Xenia · 01/09/2012 07:22

I agree that it helps if they make friends with children who live here. At my daughter's school as the school coaches came from so many different directions they put girls in classes with other girls who lived near them which worked very well. Also it helped us a lot heloping the older 3 to pass a driving test at 17. One even passed his driving theory test on his 17th birthday!