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Secondary education

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

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Original poster

Walking to secondary

24 replies

OlafsTwig · 10/09/2021 14:39

I know this has been done hundreds of times, sorry. But I'm musing. DC is in year 5, so just starting to think about secondaries.

In order of distance from our house:

school A is 15 mins walk, very small, undersubscribed, reputation not great but not dire.
three independent options all walkable
school B is 45 mins walk through the town centre and out the other side
schools C, D and E are 60-80 mins walk, with options by (public service) bus probably bringing it down to 30-40 mins total journey for each one.

We'd be all but guaranteed a place at A - it'll go on our form as our banker whatever. We'd have got a place, or been in a lottery for a place at all the other state options in the last few years, but in some cases only just. Haven't totally ruled out independent, but need to make that decision now.

My secondary was five mins walk, so this is alien.

Anyone care to muse with me? How much of a factor is the journey?

OP posts:

PileOfBooks · 10/09/2021 14:47

A currently as that is a lot of walking for the others. Is cycling an option or buses etc that dont involve that level of walking?

PileOfBooks · 10/09/2021 14:48

Consider afterschool clubs etc and coming home then too. Wet and cold weather. And potentially 7 years of it.

UserAtLargeAgain · 10/09/2021 14:53

C and D are too far for me. I wouldn't want that commute, so I wouldn't force it on my DC. Plus it will be sods law their friends will live as far away in the opposite directio.

It's quite nice to live very close to school (your school A) - it means you can make ad-hoc decisions about staying for after school clubs, or to do homework or to go to a friend's house - so I think there are hidden benefits. But the length of B wouldn't be a deal breaker.

For me it would boil down to whether I liked A or B better and if B were better if it was "better enough" to justify the cost.

BananaPB · 10/09/2021 14:56

Agree about the possibility of cycling. 45 minutes + walking journey is from in rain and cold and much quicker on a bike

titchy · 10/09/2021 15:01

A 45 minute walk in the middle of winter in the pissing rain with a heavy rucksack, PE kit, cookery ingredients and a musical instrument is not going to be fun.

Post again once you've worked out the times using the most likely transport method used. An 80 minute walk could easily be an easy 20 min bus ride, conversely a 45 min walk could easily be an hour with two buses and a wait at the bus depot frequented by the local down and outs.....

Original poster

OlafsTwig · 10/09/2021 15:03

My commute is nigh on two hours so there's that .

Bike might be an option for D which doesn't involve going through town or a big hill. We'd need to do a lot of work on DC's bike confidence. C and E would need an electric bike really.

I used to walk 40 mins to work before I got this job, and it was alright. I imagine DC stopping in town (at McDs!) every day.

I think B is front runner at the moment for first choice, but we need to think about what our second choice is. Is A "bad" enough and C/D/E far enough that we go independent.

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Original poster

OlafsTwig · 10/09/2021 15:06

With two buses and a change in the (dry) bus station, the 45 min walk can be done in 45 mins. Quicker still if you walk one (20 min) leg.

The others are similar set ups - bus makes it a bit quicker, but trade off between speed and simplicity (no changes) and time out of the rain.

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FanFckingTastic · 10/09/2021 15:06

For the schools with the longer commutes you not only need to think about the journey for school, but also the journeys that your DC (and potentially you if you are picking up / dropping off etc) will want to make to socialise with school friends. If the school is far away it might also mean that the friends that your DC makes are quite a distance from you. My DC's schools also have them playing sports matches every weekend at various locations too so that's also another consideration.

Original poster

OlafsTwig · 10/09/2021 15:14

One of them is catholic (we might squeak in as other church goers), and that has a massive geographic catchment. Good point.

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CiaoForNiao · 10/09/2021 15:14

My nearest secondary school as a teen was a 35-40 min walk. Allowing for dawdling and chatting it could easily take over an hour to get home.

I'd be considering how "good" the schools are overall, which one best fits your DC, where their friends are going (although they will make new ones).

hollyhocksarenotmessy · 10/09/2021 15:19

I think other factors about the schools are more important. These are all doable.

MorningNinja · 10/09/2021 15:30

DS walks an hour to school each day unless its raining.

He walks with friends and tbh it's been really good for him. He gets exercise and fresh air before starting his learning - that's a great way to start the day.

AnnaDyne · 10/09/2021 15:38

Any of those are completely fine from a distance perspective - shouldn't you be just choosing on the basis of the best school for your child?

My children are around a 20 minute walk from each of their secondary schools, but some of their friends travel for much longer to get there.

Madwomanuptheroad29 · 10/09/2021 15:41

Definitely the school closest. It is not only the walking to school, it is also having local friends, social life etc.
If the school is in any way "good enough" it will be okay.

DameAlyson · 10/09/2021 15:42

If you choose B, very likely he'll have friends walking the first leg to the town centre, then he can get the bus for the second leg (and the reverse in the mornings, of course.)

He won't be Yr 7 forever, and as he gets older he'll have the option to go to a coffee shop with his friends in town on the way home, or pop into the shops or public library. All good for building friendships and independence.

Original poster

OlafsTwig · 10/09/2021 15:45

The closest school has some kids who live locally who have prioritised the journey, but more are either from an admissions black hole on the other side of town, or kids from all over who have otherwise not got a place in their local school. I see kids walk past my house to get to A, B and D.
C and E both feel further away.

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Original poster

OlafsTwig · 10/09/2021 15:47

Dame, that's what I imagine. Or walking and pocketing the bus fare!

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Pollaidh · 10/09/2021 16:04

Bear in mind how much more homework they'll be getting at secondary.

DD has just started senior school and is getting 3 pieces of homework a night. By the time they've got home from school (and possibly had an extra hour of after school club too), and eaten, there's very little time left to get homework done. She's basically coming home, doing homework, eating, sleeping. She only has a 20 minute commute each way.

Kolo · 10/09/2021 16:18

The school I went to was a good few miles from home, a bus into town and then I could walk 30ish mins or get 2nd bus to school. I usually walked. I did that journey from age 11 for 7 years and didn't really think about it too much. It was just normal.

It was a bit of a pain when I had lots to carry (cooking, PE kit etc). And in bad weather it was a bit crap to spend all day in wet clothes.

I used to love it as a teenager, though, when we'd all walk from school into town and hang around town with mates for a couple of hours before going home.

For the first couple of years I relied on my parents driving me to friends houses, because they lived all over the place. I also kept some local friends from primary, so had the best of both worlds. When I was older, I'd get the bus by myself into town to meet my mates there. In fact, we were all so used to getting public transport, and had school bus passes, that we'd be on the buses all over the place at weekends.

For my own kids, though, I've picked schools that are very close to home - less than a mile. I can't even imagine letting my kids doing the journey I was doing every day!

UserAtLargeAgain · 10/09/2021 16:41

Similar thing here Kolo. I had a 45 minute bus journey to school. You do sort of get used to it and make the best of it. But, like you, I wouldn't want it for my own DC.

Original poster

OlafsTwig · 24/09/2021 20:23

We've visited A, B and D and I have a spreadsheet.

A really is tiny. PAN

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PeonyTime · 24/09/2021 20:36

I'd be worried about only half filling A. Agree with your plan to put it as the banker as last choice (although, unless there is some weird demographics going on, it sounds like youd get offered that even without putting as an option - how many choices do you get?)

Do any of them have a school bus service? DS is in our catchment school, about 5 miles away (3.5 if you cut through the nature reserve). There are 8 busses that go from our town to the school, with a council provided, free, bus pass. If he does a before or afterschool club, he needs taking.

B sounds reasonable, as does D with the walk/bus/walk option.

Original poster

OlafsTwig · 25/09/2021 09:07

Yeah, I'm feeling unenthusiastic about A. No sixth form, no triple science. It's brilliant for some kids who don't thrive elsewhere, but I think my DC will be one of those who thrives in a massive academic school.

The only proper school bus (as in, not available for public service) brings kids from the other side of town to A. But there are lots of other public service buses which either only run at school times or which extend / alter their route to go near the schools. Ten mins walk from our house, there's a stop with routes to B, C and close enough to walk to E. That's pretty much it for public transport to C; E has loads of busses that go past it (but not directly to our side of town).

There are also once-in-each-direction public services to D, but only from the other direction. Most of its intake crosses the green strip between us and the next conurbation.

We get to put down loads of preferences! There's space on our form for all these schools. But yes, I would expect to get A if we didn't get into anything we wrote down.

I WOH with a big commute and DH doesn't drive, so giving them a lift isn't an option. Putting them in a taxi on occasion (horizontal rain / twisted ankle etc), and would be a lot cheaper than going independent!

OP posts:

Stokey · 25/09/2021 09:28

My Dd1 in Y7 chose the school further away than the easy walkable one - she was in the waiting list for the first so did actually get to make the choice when a place came up.

I was really worried about the journey - it's nearly an hour on either a bus, or train and tube. But there's a whole group of them that go together and she seems to be enjoying it. It is tiring, but the school further away actually finishes earlier (as lots of people travel to get there) so in reality she is only home about half an hour later than if she'd gone to the closer school.

It's a consideration but I definitely wouldn't use the journey as a deal breaker.

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