Long Commute to Senior School

[Louiselady500]

Deciding on School for DC for Sept 2023. Currently school journey is 15mins by car. I travelled an hour on school bus each way for senior school and it never bothered me. Is a 40min-1hr (depending on traffic) car ride from year 7 too long. How do your kids find it? It’s an Independent School where kids travel mostly within a 25mile radius from many different areas. There isn’t a school bus from our area. Some parents say it’s great to have the 1:1 time to talk with their kids especially in the teenage years when they can become distant. Lots of kids get homework done on the journey or use the time to read or revise. The drive is not an issue for me. Any experiences would be very helpful.

@Louiselady500
My DDs went to school less than 2 hour away and boarded. No way would I do that every day and neither should you. This school sounds similar to the one DDs went to snd you really should consider flexi boarding.

Doing outside clubs after school starts to be difficult when the amount of homework ramps up and then there are school activities on top and all that travel. Is she going to opt out of everything? If you want your child to truly be part of this school and benefit from it, use the flexi board option.

As an aside, “save the planet”. Think about congestion and cut down the car travel. At the very least, get the bus.

I think if both you and DC feel it's the right school for them, and DC is happy with that commute (ideally, in time, you'd drive them to the bus and they'd be independent from there), then you should go with your gut instinct. In London it's completely normal for children to spend an hour commuting to secondary school each way in the independent sector. There aren't "local" private indies - certainly not within the top tier of schools: kids come from all over London to attend them. It sounds to me like you're sold on the school, so I think as long as your DC is okay with the commute - and there's a way for them to be more independent as time goes on - just go for it.

@Louiselady500
My mistake. They were under 1 hour away! Well below 2 hour round trip!’