Secondary school out of home town

[Kezerina]

Hi all,
So basically when the first lockdown hit last year we moved to a different town. I continued the 40 miles round trip for the drop offs/pick ups for 9 months but my kids were exhausted. 2 of my 3 children then got places at local schools. Due to the timings and distance I was unable to get my eldest to their existing secondary school (yr 7) and get back for my other 2’s start time. The bus timings were poor and it would have meant my child hanging around for 45 mins before they would even have been allowed on school grounds, so I took the decision to home educate them whilst appealing for our local secondary school that was full.

We lost the appeal as the school were already 4 over their PAN for the year 7 cohort so I have continued to home educate. My child is still on the waiting list for our local school and has been for around a year. I never intended on home schooling this long and have recently applied for a place at another secondary school 6 miles away- again the buses are not ideal and there will be a bit of waiting around before and after- and the timings clash with my other children start and finish time! Which my child is anxious about as it is an unfamiliar town. So I wanted to reach out for some advice - am I doing the right thing by getting my child back into school?

6 miles isn’t a crazy distance to travel to secondary school at all, do the bus journey with her a few times in the holidays so she’s confident and by the time September comes round she’ll be fine. There will probably be other kids on the bus too. I went to secondary school 7 miles away by train and I had a whole gang of “train friends” from different forms and year groups.

Your daughter will be fine. My daughter used to travel across North London - bus, tube and walk - and she enjoyed it. As Robostripes says, you make travel buddies and they enjoy the independence. 7 miles really isn’t very far to travel to secondary school.

We apply for schools this year and my third choice which we are most likely to get is 10 miles away, schools in our area are very oversubscribed and I'd rather they went a bit further out to a better school rather than a closer one that isn't as good just because it's convenient. How doable is the bus? Have you applied for schools and seen what they can offer, if they can't offer you a school within 3 miles aren't they obligated to provide travel? I wouldn't be home schooling (for lots of reasons!)

I have my kids at a school 4 miles away. We have one bus and that's it but we mostly drive them They only annoying thing is social life if also 4 miles away. So a LOT of driving but that's the compromise we made to move here Only a few more years and one will be able to drive.

There is no guarantee you will get a school place at your preferred school from the waiting list. Your position on the list can change, depending on who moves into the area.

In your position I would make applications to as many local schools as possible and see if any offer a place. Alternatively contact your local authority and ask what schools have places in your area.

Yes, we live in a small town so there is only one secondary school and this one 6 miles away is the closest. The buses from my research conducted on the local FB were age is that the buses can be a bit unreliable . My child would have to get two buses to get within half a mile to the school and would be there half an hour before school starts- which if I dropped them off before my other children would work out the same time waiting. We have gone over the route together and driven to the bus stops etc to see where they pick up and drop off, but I do plan on doing a trial run both ways to ease anxieties.
Yes the homeschooling has been difficult alongside working from home as the curriculum is so broad and of course every school chooses their own topics to cover the overarching aims.
Part of me wants to want and re-appeal but the other part is being realistic that it is very unlikely 3/4children would have left the school to make space!

I agree- the social side of it isn’t great as it is not as easy to build those close friendships when you can’t meet up after school as easy as you could if you were in the same town. But you’re right - on the days when I cannot drive them hopefully there will be children closer to home they can build friendships with. It’s frustrating that my son is starting the secondary school in our town in September so he will be able to walk and make friends close to him but my daughter will not.

@Kezerina have you tried applying via the council? Our council has to provide transport if they can't offered you a space within 3 miles, if you apply and only put your local town school down (because if you put the 6 mile school down that will be classed as choosing and this removes their obligation to help with travel) and they offer you the 6 mile away school, they may have an obligation to help with transport which could be a taxi if there isn't a suitable bus service? Then keep yourself on the waiting list for the town school?

I appreciate all councils are different but I would start by speaking to the council.

And you may find your place on the waiting list improves when you apply as you will have a sibling link now?

It's worth checking whether any kids have left or will be leaving over the summer, and where you'll be on the waiting list once your younger one starts.

And yes, ask the council about transport to the school six miles away. It may hinge on whether they regard the bus route as suitable.

Are the other two old enough to get themselves to school?

Aside from my daughter who will be in year 8 in September I have my son whom is starting year 7 in September at our local school so he would be able to walk then. However my other child will only be in year 4 in September and I have another child in nursery which is next to the primary school. So come September I will have to take the little ones and pick them up and then either have my daughter get the bus and hang around before school or drive her earlier so I get back back in time for the start time for the little ones! It seemed so simple when I was young- you just got into the school closest to you!

When I appealed at the start of the year she was first on the waiting list but the trouble is the local school is over their subscribed limit of children by 4- so even if one or two left they wouldn’t offer me a place! I have spoken with the council and they have said I can re-appeal in September when my son starts. It did take a while for the appeal hearing so I was concerned if they don’t hear us until October/November time and then it is still a no my daughter has missed out on the start of term that she could have at the school out of our town.

More on the making the most of it approach - many many children do similar journeys. It will be nerve-wracking at first (for both of you) but she will quickly become a fab hand at it.

Could you spend some time in the town the school is in? Not necessarily explicitly tell her that’s what you’re doing and why, but find some activities that just so happen to be there, use a supermarket over that way, go to parks and cafes there. It will make it seem less far away and alien.

Also explicitly practice the journey with her, talk through the what ifs (what if the bus doesn’t turn up, what if she doesn’t have bus money, what if her phone battery is flat etc.).

It must be a big change after this long homeschooling (and especially in the year we’ve had!)

Thank you EduCated - I think this is the path that we are going to take! As I cannot rely on the what if surrounding the local school, whilst at the same time putting her social life on hold. Yes I think that is it- it’s the nerves on what if the first bus is late and then she has to wait and get a later second bus making her late to school. Unfortunately schools nowadays are very strict with detentions and 2 lates a week equals a detention - even if it is a public transport issue!

The town 6 mile away is a small town - only one supermarket on the way out of town , not really much of a high street. We have driven there 3 times this week and gone over where the bus stops are , where she could walk to if I am able to pick her up (school is on a main road so no parking for 1/2 mile).

Yes , I think in a way fortunately it has happened this year- alongside all of the school closures as in reality the children have only been in class 4 months more than her. And her friends from her previous secondary school were always messaging on their phones during their home learning lessons during the closures ; whilst my daughter has completed substantial work during her time at home so education wise I do not feel she will struggle/ be behind. It is the social side that has triggered me to re consider now rather than holding off until another appeal - and also one of the reasons I am a little sad that she will be making friends with those where she is not simply able to walk down the road and meet up with 😞

OP, are you sure she won't be allowed on the school site when she arrives early? My secondary school had pupils travelling from quite a distance so we were allowed to go into the dining room from 7.30am (registration was at 8.50am). I used to get there at around 8am and there were always others there in my year, and quite a large group by 8.20-8.30. We'd just chat or do homework, and it was quite a nice, chilled start to the day. If the new school have something similar, it might not be a problem for your DD to arrive early.

Have you asked the school in the next town whether they have other pupils from your area? If the local school is stuffed full in that year (presumably after appeals), there may be others who didn't get in last year. If you discover there are a few others, it might allay your fears. The school won't be able to give you their contact details, but maybe they would be prepared to forward yours to the relevant parents. If there's any choice on which form to put your daughter in (some may be full), they might also try and put her in the same form as someone else from your town.