RGS Guildford Commute, Parents' organised transport

[FactualVin]

Hello everyone,

First of all, wishing all the very best to children and their parents looking to take the competitive 11+ exams this year.

We live in the New Malden/Kingston belt and am wondering if there are other parents around here whose children already go to RGS, Guildford or another Guildford school? Is there any parents organised private transport like a mini bus we can explore.

My DS is due to take the 11+ exam later this year for RGS, which we all like a lot but the whole dependence on public transport for an hour-plus long commute is not particularly encouraging. Surprised there are no school buses whatsoever.

Thank you

I think you will find a train is quicker than a minibus. It's worth visiting your local train station in term time and seeing the volume of dc travelling to RGS/Tormead and Guildford High (and for the girls schools from a young age too).
Having said that you might want to focus more on KGS and Hampton as often dc receiving offers from these 3 schools will go with the option with the easiest commute.

Just to add if you look at the Tormead school website you will see the school bus route map. The fact the Tormead school bus doesn't go anywhere near New Malden indicates the lack of demand (yes there are many girls schools between new Malden and Guildford) and the possible length of the journey.

Hello. Good luck with the 11+ entrance exams.
Train will be quicker, as hockeygrass mentions. As RGS is in the middle of town, public transport is more convenient, so there aren't any school buses. Some school buses from Woking to St John's Leatherhead take 1hr, too
At the moment, your Yr5 DS probably seems too little to be going on public transport. But, come Sept 2023, they'll be v grown up and will get to grips with everything quickly.

Train from Surbiton straight into Guildford takes around 35-40 minutes.

So from New Malden train station it's 2 stops to Surbiton, or Norbiton is 1 stop. Fairly simple.

Or you could drop them at Surbiton station yourself?

Probably your best bet.

But.... if you are in Mew Malden, Tiffin, KGS or Hampton would be a much better journey and your child would have more local friends which is invaluable.

Why wouldn’t you go for a more local school? That’s a horrible commute every day for a child.

Thank you @hockeygrass , appreciate you taking time to share your knowledge and perspective. Public transport is well over an hour from our place to Guildford whereas a drive is 35 mins and direct with no breaks in between, hence wanted to check if some local parents may have arranged for some private transport. Thanks again and best wishes with your endeavours.

I am also hoping for my DS to get to grips with a bunch of things, thank you for your encouragement.

@Jjones8 and @PurpleTrain11 Fully agree on the local schools and those would be our first preference but Guildford isn't really that far if there could be private transport, hence thought of checking. Thank you for your helpful inputs.

Another vote for making sure the commute is easily doable and go as local as you can. My 3 have had a relatively short commute from Woking to the Guildford schools and two of them really disliked the time it takes out commuting…., it might seem short in the morning but delays / activities etc make for a long day. As they get older they all need to be able to meet up with friends at weekends independently. Unless you’ve got no other options not sure any school is worth a hideous commute.

Thank you for your chiming in @surreygoldfish , we are saying the same thing, hence I started this thread to check if there is any parents organised transport.