Worth it to send DD on a 35 minute commute for a school?

[MagPiedPiper]

Just found out that DD is in the top 100 (though near the bottom) of the governor's test at Mary Mags. She really enjoyed the school when we visited, but it's quite far away -- about 35 minutes on the overground (we're in NW6). With the catchment being so small for the school, most of her friends would likely live very near the school. We've looked at Parli and even Camden School for Girls, as those aren't quite as far, but she's very unlikely to get into either of those.

With VAT, etc., I don't think it's too likely that DD will make the cut to Mary Mags, but just need to decide if it's worth ranking highly on the application form. Any thoughts?

I think 35mins is nothing for that school! Lots will be travelling the same. Remember people move all the time to get in etc. That's roughly my DDs journey to Parli and even though that's a super local school she's still got friends on the train. It's also far easier than the much more local school she used to go to, wasn't walkable but the bus was so unreliable and often so packed it missed her stop. It's the ease of the journey that matters most imo.
I don't have any experience of the likelihood of getting a place from that spot but I would try it. I agree with the VAT thing plus with Parlis recent Ofsted I think places will be very very sought after this year. It was already more popular than CSG last year.

Is it 35 min total commute or 35 min on the overground plus extra walking time before and after? If it’s total, that’s not bad for London and the overground is probably more pleasant than the bus or tube.

If you have something closer that you’d be happy with, I might choose that instead as long commutes can be tiring, and as you say, she would have more local friends. But if not, 35 min seems manageable. And presumably she’d be in lessons with others with governor’s places, so some of her friends are likely to live further away too.

Also, unless you have many other options that you want to put on your preference list, there's no harm in putting CSG and/or Parli at the top. You never know, and I’ve heard girls from not-so-local areas have been allocated (regular, not music) places at CSG in the past.

It would be 35-40 min total, so a bit of a hike. There are more local schools with better results (St George’s for example) but Mary Mags seemed to have a pretty good vibe both times I visited. I would also consider Grey Coat — which is a fairly similar distance — if DD gets in off the language test, but I understand students are more spread out there and there are more options to get home. With Mary Mags, if the overground is down, she’s pretty stuck.

Agree that Mary Mags would be worth it for a 35 min total commute. That's not too far in London for a good school. But I share your concerns about the Overground - I've used it regularly for various commutes and typically it would let me down about 5% of the time. You'd have to have a backup option (you driving, or an Uber?)

Both my children have done similar commutes by train (nit together as their schools were in different towns). The commute hasn't been an issue, but I have had to do quite a bit of driving to facilitate friendships as the children live over a wide area

The overground hasn't let my DD down anywhere near as much as the tube did tbh.

I'm a strong advocate for a local school. But for many, 35 minutes is local.

Do you (and DD) like this school best?

With the 'equal preference' system does the ranking matter? Islington admissions says not but Mary Mags say that it does matter. I would have thought that with the waiting list for places, it is just that - a waiting list and lower ranking kids (my DC also top 100) won't get a place right away in March anyway. Surely wherever its placed on your list, they just work down the list of kids from 19-100 as the top 18 turn down places and so on.

I would assume Mary Mags needs to be ranked higher on your preference list than the school you’re allocated in order for you to be put on the waiting list.

What is the admissions criteria - is it test based or distance? If it is test based then likely there will be many children travelling in on the tube and the new friends she will make won't be local to the school, they will all be in the same boat.

My DS travels by tube 45 minutes door to door (also from NW6!). There are plenty of children on the bus and tube at that time.

My DD does 45 minutes on the bus. It does put extra pressure on her and make her more tired and can be a pain to collect her if she is ill.

I’m not sure if we like it best, though I really enjoyed it when I visited last year. Oddly, I generally felt more impressed by schools last year? This year they all felt a bit more meh!

DD’s top choice is St George’s, but Mary Mags is one of her favourites.

Ranking would only matter insofar if I rank it lower than another school that DD is accepted to.

It’s 10% test based, 90% distance based with a very very small catchment (something like 0.3 miles) so for the most part it’s hyper-local. Don’t know if this is representative, but the two girls who gave my tour last year were both in from the test and both still lived quite nearby, just not within 0.3 miles. I did once see a girl walking down our highs street in her Mary Mags uniform, but no idea if she actually lives nearby!

Yes I do worry that even if it’s not terrible for her, that it could be a hassle for DH and I. I also still have a younger DD who goes to school 20 minutes in a totally different direction, so that’s not ideal.

I have a younger DD who I will still need to take to school, so driving her wouldn’t be an option. She can technically take the tube, but it would require her to go all the way down to Green Park, switch, and come all the way back up to Islington! Doable, but definitely a pain.

I know nothing about the specific schools, or what the alternatives are, but that is a perfectly normal time for secondary aged children to take to get to school / from school.
It certainly wouldn't put me off a dc of mine going to the best school for them.

As others have said, it is way within the normal range for secondary. There are plenty of kids living walking distance to Mary Mags who choose Dame Alice over it. And Dame Alice is about 50 minutes away from south Islington. For some sought-after indies, kids commute for anything up to an hour. You have to ask yourself if it is your top choice, distance aside. If it is, then 35 minutes is nothing.