How long is your DC's journey to school?

[Asiatarta]

I am trying to decide on my secondary school application preference order. All schools seem equal in everything more or less so it boils down to travel and I'm just wondering...how long does your DC travel to school? How many buses (if any) do they have to catch? Did it worry you them travelling alone to school when starting year 7? Do you track them, if so what do you use?

Thank you!

@Squidsister, I do understand your comment about people spurning the perfectly adequate on the door step comp but speaking as someone who did and put their DC through a test, we do it for better fit for their interests and out of a belief we’re giving them better odds at higher performing schools. Speaking personally, we also wanted single sex education.

Agree from what I’ve seen often the local state is really unfairly rubbished. I live in Kent and there is definitely a status here amongst middle class parents of getting their DC into the grammars (all of which involve a 30 minute + journey) with coaching for this starting often 2 years before.

Perhaps part of the spurning local options comes of seeing just too much of the kids on the street though. We did seriously consider our decent local secondary but I’ll be honest and say that the very short length of a lot of the girls skirts and bumping into the teenage boys in their school uniform smoking weed in the back of the park when I walk the dog was off putting. That’s not to say that the behaviour of all kids from our further away schools are perfect I’m sure but we don’t have it in our faces!

5 minute walk. It’s a revelation for year 7 DD as primary school was 25 minutes drive and an hour+ with a childminders

Perhaps part of the spurning local options comes of seeing just too much of the kids on the street though. We did seriously consider our decent local secondary but I’ll be honest and say that the very short length of a lot of the girls skirts and bumping into the teenage boys in their school uniform smoking weed in the back of the park when I walk the dog was off putting. That’s not to say that the behaviour of all kids from our further away schools are perfect I’m sure but we don’t have it in our faces!
Have you been at the grammar schools at home time, to be able to compare? You may be surprised... the pupils are not all angels either!

:-) I think I’ve pretty much said that! Neither does my DD go to a Grammar so hanging around their entrances would be pretty dodgy.

SJaneS48 - Oh sorry, when you said your DC went through a test I assumed it was for a grammar school.

Not saying anyone has to hang around the entrances! But walking past at home time can be an eye opener. Everyone assumes their local schools are awful because they see the kids with the worst behaviour at home time, but that’s the case with teenagers at all schools - they come out and act up (not all of them, but some of them, before everyone jumps on me and says ‘my teen would never do that’).

My friend was all for going for one of the Kent grammar schools, went for the open days etc, and the behaviour of the pupils at home time shocked her and put her right off. Her DC now at the local secondary and she is very happy.

I would also say that parents only see their teens in a certain way. I work with teenagers and can say that even the smartest ones from the loveliest homes can act pretty badly at times - it would certainly be an eye opener for some parents ....

As for drugs again I would say this is an issue at most secondaries with a minority of pupils. The only difference is the type of drugs they can afford.....

:-) pretty much agree with what you’ve said Squid. DD is at an out of area State Secondary with a performing arts specialism - DD got a musical place after a singing audition and musicality test. It academically outperforms the local school and most importantly, suits our DD who loves the choirs & opportunity to develop her singing.

Pretty sure they aren’t all angels and teenagers are teenagers. Perhaps the residents in the road outside DD’s school say exactly the same! The only point I was making is that familiarity can bring more ??. But if we’d felt the local option (which we really did seriously consider as it’s good, especially for Kent!) was the best for DD I’d have put aside any small concerns, just bought her an extra long skirt 🙂!

30 minute walk - just over a mile.

Lots of her classmates have 5 mile + commutes on bus, some much further on train. She's at a grammar with no catchment.

Friends' kids who live locally all go to non-selective which is less than a mile away.

@Squidsister I agree. Especially about the type of drugs