Sixth Form - not allowed on school bus, no public transport, so what do people do?

[catelina]

I found out today that despite there being no public transport at all where we live, there is no transport provision for sixth formers to attend our catchment school, which is 10 miles away.

They can apply for a (paid, expensive) seat on the school bus that DS currently goes on (for free), but there is no guarantee they'll get one and most don't.

WTF do people do? Give up their jobs so they can drive 16 year olds to and from school?

@Aroundtheworldin80moves that is just insane! I have a feeling DS's school have just built a new block on what used to be the overflow/students' car park...

DS will still be learning to drive the very minute he turns 17, but as he's a summer birthday he won't be independently mobile for any of Y12. There will be no moped!

I had a similar problem when DS started college, the bus runs every 2 hours and a discounted student ticket was £190 every half term, he had to leave home at 7am which was fine.

Coming home his last class finished at 4:10 and the bus also left at 4pm college refused to let him leave 10 mins early so the next bus was at 6pm, the tutor told him he could wait in the library.

He wasn't getting home until 7;30pm, even though college finished at 4:10pm. It was awful in the winter.

Thankfully he passed his driving test shortly after he turned 17.

Our local six form have transport issues and parents ended up hiring a local taxi service with a minibus to take them to /from school. It's a risk as it relys on all parents paying up but only way it's been possible to get them there without parents.

[quote catelina]@Aroundtheworldin80moves that is just insane! I have a feeling DS's school have just built a new block on what used to be the overflow/students' car park...

DS will still be learning to drive the very minute he turns 17, but as he's a summer birthday he won't be independently mobile for any of Y12. There will be no moped![/quote]
The parking situation is compounded by their being a Primary School and Secondary school, as well as the college, all in a row. Parents park up nearly an hour before pick up. Pretty much every where is residents parking, so the bits that aren't are rammed.

@Chloemol unfortunately they don't actually HAVE to be in education it just gets wording that way.

This is the sort of thing I always think when I see threads asking about moving to the countryside with kids and teens

I lived in arse end of no where when I was teen

No bloody way was I putting my children (and me!) through that!

The thing is, some of these places are not even the arse end of nowhere. Just rubbish public transport.

I had no idea this was an issue . We live on the outskirts of a small city and DS is doing his a levels at the local FE college. He just gets the local bus into the city centre where the college is . What an absolute ridiculous situation to be able to get to.school until you are 16 but after that to not have a space on the bus even if you are willing to pay!!

17 miles -- we could afford full adult fare season ticket but in fact county council subsidises season ticket for yr12-13 students, 50% off, train only (not buses).

We did have to pay full season ticket price for 1.5 terms for 16yo DS in yr11. That was a shock.

I have two kids at the same school, one 6th form one not. We are also rural, their school is the nearest one and it's 5ish miles away, not all that far in the grand scheme of things but far enough. Youngest is eligible for free transport, eldest is not. It costs us £600 a year. Eldest can't yet drive herself as there aren't any driving tests available in this area for some time. There is NO WAY I'll let her go on a moped on the roads round here, one choice of route is a 60mph A road and the other is single track country lanes full of blind corners.

It's shit, but at least she has a place on the bus. We'd be screwed if not, no idea what anyone in this position is supposed to do... Can the school advocate at all?

We're going to try and get it sorted through the EHCP.

@Bramshott, I sympathise, and in your position would be speaking to my local councillors, creating petitions etc, but I can't help wondering - how does your teenager get anywhere else if there is no public transport? Presumably you drive them? To a certain extent it is one of the hazards of bringing up children in rural locations. However, you have benefitted from a free school bus service up to now and its understandable that you feel entitled to it continuing. As post-16 education/training/work is now compulsory, the provision for free bus transport should be extended. It is here in London.

We only moved out here because we couldn't find an affordable house that met our needs in town, where we lived before. It's a lovely environment and even DS appreciates it, but he does need to be driven to friends, activities etc. They all do round here though, so he's no different to anyone else, and they spend a lot of leisure time together via tech, so it's not as isolated as you might think.

Anyway, I've contacted my MP, we'll see how that goes...

It's a common problem in rural areas. Our local secondary school is about 4 miles away with an almost entirely rural catchment. There is zero public transport from most of the catchment area to the school. There are usually places on school buses as it's a relatively affluent area so a relatively high proportion of the final year had cars, otherwise there wouldn't be. My 2 had mopeds which meant they could do after school activities and have part time jobs.

And my youngest is 29 so I doubt a year's campaigning is going to get anyone very far.

@countrygirl99

It's a common problem in rural areas. Our local secondary school is about 4 miles away with an almost entirely rural catchment. There is zero public transport from most of the catchment area to the school. There are usually places on school buses as it's a relatively affluent area so a relatively high proportion of the final year had cars, otherwise there wouldn't be. My 2 had mopeds which meant they could do after school activities and have part time jobs.

I’d be fascinated to know where

So hundreds of parents have to drive their children to school because no public transport?

If a fraction of those parents came together and campaigned local council / school / the school bus private company - then there would be transport

@catelina

We only moved out here because we couldn't find an affordable house that met our needs in town, where we lived before. It's a lovely environment and even DS appreciates it, but he does need to be driven to friends, activities etc. They all do round here though, so he's no different to anyone else, and they spend a lot of leisure time together via tech, so it's not as isolated as you might think.

Anyway, I've contacted my MP, we'll see how that goes...

That’s the irony with these lovely ritual environments

So much time spent in your car

I live centrally in a lovely market town - spoilt for choice with transport options
Isn’t used my car… two weeks ago!

Rural

@Marni83 North Bedfordshire. Believe me many, many people have campaigned about the cost of 6th form buses. Not sure what it is now but it was only a few £ short of £1000 p.a. a few years ago. All that campaigning has made zilch difference.

[quote countrygirl99]@Marni83 North Bedfordshire. Believe me many, many people have campaigned about the cost of 6th form buses. Not sure what it is now but it was only a few £ short of £1000 p.a. a few years ago. All that campaigning has made zilch difference.[/quote]
Different issues
That’s cost

This is the complete absence of any bus service

I would happily pay, but she’s not insured seemingly so running her back and forward. One hour a day, not cheap at what my DH and I earn. Not sure what we’d be doing if we weren’t working from home.

But the only reason the poorer kids can get spaces on the bus is because a lot of the richer kids have cars. If they didn't there would be kids turned away, just like the OP is at risk of. It is the same problem because there are insufficient places for all the 6th formers who need to travel to the school. And if you are on minimum wage and need to find over £1k a year just for transport to school it's an absolutely massive problem. The result is you get kids getting lifts from other kids who have passed their test days earlier.

@countrygirl99

But the only reason the poorer kids can get spaces on the bus is because a lot of the richer kids have cars. If they didn't there would be kids turned away, just like the OP is at risk of. It is the same problem because there are insufficient places for all the 6th formers who need to travel to the school. And if you are on minimum wage and need to find over £1k a year just for transport to school it's an absolutely massive problem. The result is you get kids getting lifts from other kids who have passed their test days earlier.

I don’t understand your point

If some pupils are able to drive to school
And this results in available spaces and so all pupils in need of a space in your area… have one
Then why would there be extra bus services? There’s no need for it.

I’m in an urban area where students are able to continue using their student ID they get at 11 for the same discounted travel they enjoyed in secondary school but, if they lose the card at 16, they can get another one but they won’t qualify for ANY discounts.