How long does it take your DC to get to school?

[evtheria]

How long does it take your DC to get to their secondary school? And how - walking, by car, by bus...

Anyone whose child has a long commute eg over 30mins one way? Do they regret it? Does it really affect their social life, or how tired they are on average?

The teens I know walk to theirs in about 10-20mins, but being nearby was a huge factor for the parents in choosing the high school, no matter how good/bad the school was.

I'm just wondering if that is basically the norm in other areas (and therefore we'd probably be terrible for considering a longer commute for our kid).

10 min bus journey, but stop at the top of the street. Unusually close and easy for rural catchment. Sometimes he walks home if not laden by guitar and PE kit etc. it's 2.5 miles, downhill all the way.

Next year, 6th form. Same bus but for much longer, about 50 mins plus 10 min walk.

45 minute walk for us. We chose a longer commute over a much more local (10 min) walk as we felt it would be a better fit for our daughter. We are right on the edge of catchment for the school she goes to so we are lucky to have a place for her there. It doesn't affect friendships at all, we just end up dropping her off at friends houses.

50 minutes school bus we choose the best school rather than the closest

That to me is completely bizarre, and makes me wonder why so many British people are so terribly anxious about ‘good’ schools. I’ve lived in several other countries and there doesn’t seem to be the same consuming attitude elsewhere.

Because the quality of school can vary wildly between schools

The reason he went to a better school was firstly the local schools have an issue with child's behaviour they aren't interested in school and neither are their parents so they cause problems and stop other children from learning. Which then means the school restricts the curriculum so they can focus on improving these difficult children's literacy and mathematical skills. We wanted our child to attend a school where children were expected to behave and respect the adults at school

We have also got quite decent public transport in some places and not all schools have sixth forms.

For example, the secondary school where I used to teach had fully 1/3 of students travelling up from the coast each day because that county's schools had no 6th forms, only large 6th form colleges. But there was a regular train service.

My own DC attends a school in an adjacent Borough on an EHCP as my Borough's schools have little interest in meeting SEN needs (or if they do, it's impossible to find out). Plus when we went round local schools several had been unable to recruit for D&T so those departments were shut. Plus you can't easily be sure you'd get in. They have those banding tests so not only do.you have to be the right distance but your child needs to test right!

My neighbour's child has just switched at 16 as her school were unable to offer much of a peer group for music and drama.

The important thing about a school journey is how it feels, so a reliable train that whisks you some miles might be nicer than a walk along a lane with no pavements a shorter distance, or a very congested bus/car journey.

I mean it's a lovely idea that every area would have a decent, inclusive secondary that offered all the subjects and you could actually get into, but that's definitely not the case!

My oldest goes to a grammar school an hour away by bus it should be but you know what buses are like 😂 he is the same as your ds very street wise and he himself has gone to Birmingham with his friends for the day today .

My oldest travels an Hour away on the bus but it can longer as you know what buses can be like lol , he's fine tbh he doesn't get tired , he studies in the week and socialises on the weekend like all his friends do so it's not affected his social life he's actually out with friends today .

The plus side of commuting is definitely that you quite quickly get a confident streetwise y7 who understands public transport. V handy.

About half an hour walking, quicker when it's not winter and she'll ride her bike.
There's only one school so it's not like there's a choice anyway, and at least it's not up a steep hill like her primary school was.

45 min bus journey through several villages. No school any closer, so no choice and therefore no regrets.

Previously she would leave home at 7. And not get back till 5.30. 2 buses it involved.

She's now moved for sixth from to a grammar and it's a 30 min walk.

We basically live in middle with secondary schools all similar distance.

But some schools are quicker to get to because there's short cuts through public right of ways etc.

Because not all schools are equal, nor do they offer the same things.

Our local schools don’t even offer the subject DD is most interested in as a GCSE option. The one she goes to specialises in it, and offers over 30 different subjects at GCSE including 3 MFLs and Latin.

Extracurricular vastly better - horse riding, archery, every type of sport, music ensemble and art group you could think of.

Plus it’s a school parents actively try to get their kids into so you have a cohort with engaged and interest parents.

Why would any parent just shrug and go with whatever is at the bottom of the road if there are better options? Your child only gets one go at being a kid and going to school so surely you try and make that the nicest experience you can?

DS1 and DS2 did 90 minutes each way to get to and from a grammar school in a town without a train station. They were tired in Y7, but got used to it, and the longer day, very quickly. They also both chose to stay there for 6th form, despite being given the option to go to a good one just down the road.
For balance, DS3 (who is ND) is at a school a 10-minute cycle away, and that suits him absolutely fine!

Primary school was a 40min walk - was 3mins up until year 4 but we moved. As it was a pretty direct route along main residential roads DS walked by himself from halfway through yr5 (when he was 10).
Now in secondary which is a 15-20min walk (depending on how late he leaves and how fast he has to walk 😁)

10minutes by car, although very traffic dependent.
45 minutes walk.
He always walks home and walks in about half the time (when I'm not going past for work)

Five min walk door to door. The reason why bought this house when he was 2!

My son had a 10min walk to the bus stop and 25-30min bus ride and longer alot of the times because of traffic. Edited to add that it never affected his social life because most of his friends were travelling from a few places and even those that loved near the school he could go to their house if they were doing anything in particular or they'd wait til later to go on xbox. He's in college now and has 10min walk to the bus and 6.50am bus 10min bus ride to catch to get the college bus at 7.55am which is 1-1.5hr bus ride to college. He sets off at 6.35 gets home at 6pm at 16. It does make it more difficult for some of his activities eg kickboxing because he's home, eats, gets changed and back out again but he still has time to play on Xbox, catch up with mates and meet up with them on weekends.

We're in a village which is just 10 mins drive from a big town with several secondaries. I can drive to my eldest's school in 15mins if no traffic, a bit longer in rush hour. But as I have to drop my youngest at school at the same time, my eldest takes the public bus which goes round the houses and takes about 40 mins. She is in yr8 and enjoys the independence of being on the bus (both ways).