High School How long is an ok walk

[purpleme12]

High School child
How long would you consider is an ok walk to high school?

Mine walked 40 minutes there and back

No bus on that route unfortunately

Actual scooter, not electric. You can get teen sized or adult sized ones. DS’s school is 1.5 miles away and he scoots it in 15 minutes

Oh ok interesting about the scooting then
She does have a scooter
I think she would be too self conscious to do it if I suggested that to her! She'd probably think people might make fun of her (even if that's not the case!)
But if she sees other people do it then that would be ok. No idea how common it is here at high schools

Oh ok interesting about the scooting then
She does have a scooter
I think she would be too self conscious to do it if I suggested that to her! She'd probably think people might make fun of her (even if that's not the case!)
But if she sees other people do it then that would be ok. No idea how common it is here at high schools

Unless you have cycle paths and not just normal pavements, please don't let your DC scoot 3 miles to school. Children doing this are a nightmare for other pavement users.

Re carrying a heavy bag - check what the norm is at your school. My DC never had heavy bags (a small folder and their lunch was the norm) as so little went to and from school.

Oh ok never thought to ask about if they'll need to carry a big amount of stuff
Maybe I should be asking about that

I guess most people are saying it's too much

What do people think about once a day?

My dd walks 40 mins each way. It's a nice walk through a safe area and she walks with a friend. There's a bus but it usually packed. I'm grateful for the walk as she needs the exercise- she's not into sports.

I walked 40 minutes as did my dc

I guess I'll look at buses

There's a school that she can easily walk (really close) to.
Which, while it isn't absolutely awful, i get the impression it's seen as 'the worst' out of all the schools

And then there's no in between distance wise to the next nearest school.

I used to walk an hour each way to primary school, so I think an hour each way to high school is perfectly acceptable. (Yes, including carrying heavy books, PE kit, in the dark in winter etc. It's not as hard as people make out.)

Having the option of a bus would be good. Then she can opt not to walk if she's tired/it's raining/ she'srunning late.

Thanks, interesting

There's only a few people on here who think this!

Yes

I do think though that given the option people do go for the option of the bus anyway because it's the least effort!

Nope that is too long I think. When my DD was in high school her bag was so heavy with books/PE kits etc and it would have been tough to make her walk 55 minutes to and from school carrying that. Also its adding almost 2 hours on to an already long school day for them. What about homework? Relaxation time? I think you may have an unhappy kid in the depths of winter too when its dark, freezing and pissing down!

Is it quite flat? If it's more uphill in one direction than the other I'd be tempted to compromise on one bus and one walk (the easier way! Or if it's raining etc). Where I live a single is a flat rate of £1 for age 15 and under (they don't do returns here so it'd be £1×2 to go both ways). So that doesn't sound too terrible, depending on your finances obviously!

I might even be tempted to give her the £5 (or whatever) at the start of the week and leave it up to her to decide how to spend it - for example if it's absolutely pouring down one day she might prefer to get the bus both ways that day and walk both ways another - maybe teach some money management etc! Or even walk all week and save the money to supplement pocket money. Of course depends entirely on your circumstances.

I wouldn't have been seen dead on a scooter at that age 😆 it was definitely seen as a little kid thing! But maybe with all the e-scooters now it's seen as less uncool?

I don't think cycling or scooting on the pavement is a great plan though (as a pedestrian I HATE cyclists etc on the pavement 😬)

My dd also barely has any stuff to carry just lunch and a pencil case most days, pe kit when necessary goes in same rucksack. The term where she had pe and food tec on the same day she just opted for school dinners so it still all fitted in rucksack.
She walks about 25 mins (though sometimes on the way home it can take 1hr somehow!). If she decides to go into town after school its about 20 mins to town then 20 min home after.
I think 55 mins is on the longer side but definitely doable ( she will probably hate it in the rain so if there are any other occasional back up options that’d be good but if not then it’s just one of those things)
In yr 7 dd and a few of her friends scooted to school and I still see some doing this occasionally but again not so great in the rain

Mine gets taken every day (by people mostly on their way to work - across both parents and two households sharing lifts) and walks back more often than not (that sort of distance). On his dad’s days he gets dropped off 45 mins early. The canteen is open and he has school breakfast. It’s not like primary school when it’s neglect to leave them more than 10 mins early.

My child walks 1.7 miles each way, takes 45 minutes including gathering the friends on the way. Some of their friends walk further so I think 55 minutes is probably ok - depends a bit on how far it actually is

It's just so awkward here

If she doesn't go to the really near high school, then the next nearest is this one, what the thread is about. All the others are just slightly over an hour. (Walking). So not that far. But because of the bus routes it would need 2 buses!
Which would be more expensive for me than one bus.

To not get two buses, she'd have to walk to the bus station, which would take over half an hour anyway

Wondering if we'll have to stick with the not so good high school now ☹️

Do you know anyone else local to you who sends their child to the further away school?

Do you think the better school is worth it? And does your DD?

And what exactly is "better"? Are we taking inadequate Ofsted? Negative progress scores? Gang violence?

Or just preference with similar results, subjects etc?

I don't know yet. At this stage I am looking at all options.

I believe the really near school has some problems with behaviour. And some people worry about their child falling in with the wrong people. The school this thread is about is supposed to be really good I think.

At this stage I'm considering all options and still thinking

OP send your DD to the school and let her try all available methods to get to/from the school.

She may end up finding someone who lives nearby who she can travel with most of the time whether that's cycling, walking, on the bus or sometimes getting a lift from their parents.

Most of the kids that cycle to school in my area don't actually ride to school on their own.

But on the other hand if all her friends go to the nearer school she’s going to feel very hard done by not being with them, AND with an hour’s solo walk each way.