Churchers College vs Guildford County State School / Commute v Local

[TJJRCT]

Our daughter has a place at Churcher's College for entry in September, but we live in central Guildford so she also will get into the state Guildford County School, which is within walking distance, and will know others going. She won't know anyone at Churcher's.

Churcher's feels like a great fit but the daily commute on the train from Guildford to Petersfield feels daunting and tiring (and that's just when the trains are actually running on time). Concerned about the long commute and the fact that friends will be from a very wide area, with very few local to Guildford. If she only arrives home at 6pm after doing post-school clubs etc - when is there time for homework / chill time? With Saturday sports fixtures, it would be getting on a train 6 days a week.

We are lucky to have the option of Guildford County School, which has great academic credentials but even the best of state schools have more limited extra-curricular activities and bigger class sizes, less attention etc.

Are there any other Churcher's parents whose children don't live close to the school who could advise on their experience? Or indeed other parents whose children do a long-ish commute to a day school in similar circumstances.

Any perspectives gratefully received: it feels like such a big decision.

My son has had quite a commute since the start of year 7 - he leaves at 7am every day and school bus takes around 1 hour. He is now in year 9 and only does clubs 2 nights a week so is home between 5.15 and 6.30. It’s a long day but it’s the right school for him. My daughter has a much shorter commute to her school but extensive out of school commitments. Both are at independent schools and there is not much downtime in the week tbh. Homework most nights so rarely are they “free” before 8pm. Both play Saturday sports and are often gone for a big chunk of the day. Bear in mind also your daughter may have to get to Churchers to get transport to matches, which could be a long way from the school. We were not in catchment for a great state school so it wasn’t an option for us. If your daughter is bright and well supported I am sure she could do extra activities outside of school? My friend’s son is at Churchers and they are happy with the school.