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Secondary education

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Original poster

Advice re school Transport Appeals

18 replies

Pixie999 · 28/06/2025 15:05

Hello

im wondering if any of the extremely knowledgeable people on here could offer me
advice.

we live on the border of two councils. One has a grammar school one doesn’t. Unfortunately the one that doesn’t is the one our postcode is in. They have schools and a frozen area in yet another county they agree to transport too all of which are further away from us to the grammar school. My daughter has passed her 11+ and so is going there along with others locally but the council have always refused transport so we are fighting it to appeals. There is two other schools in the different council which are also closer to us than our home councils schools but we weren’t given an option to
apply for any of those schools as they refuse transport to them all but now use the fact that there is a closer school to us in that council than the grammar so use that to say they won’t provide transport even thought they can’t offer grammer
school education in their council and it’s still closer than the school options they will
pay for. We want to go to an independent appeal but want advice or anyone with experience as we have no idea if we have a chance or not. Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
BarnOwlFlying · 28/06/2025 15:14

Grammar school isn’t a necessity so a council will, quite rightly, only fund you going to your closest catchment school.
I can’t see how an appeal would win.

Bluevelvetsofa · 28/06/2025 15:14

As far as I recall, if you are more than a certain distance from your nearest school, your child is entitled to a bus pass. If you choose to send your child to a school that is further away, you are responsible for the costs.

I don’t know whether the grammar school issue makes a difference. I’m not clear whether there is a closer grammar school your child could attend.

SheilaFentiman · 28/06/2025 16:06

Are you more than three miles from the closest school in your county/borough? You seem to be saying your LA would give you free transport if you had applied within the LA

MillicentMargaretAmanda · 28/06/2025 16:20

I live in a village that is 8 miles from the nearest town with several secondary moderns and several grammars. No child gets free transport to a grammar as the nearest secondary modern is about half a mile closer. I would be very surprised if you won an appeal.

Lightuptheroom · 28/06/2025 16:46

You've made your preference of grammar school therefore you wouldn't win at appeal. Transport appeals can only be won if the transport policy has been incorrectly applied or if you have been allocated a school not on your preferences which is over 3 miles away and therefore deemed to not be within a reasonable distance.

Grammar school is entirely personal preference and you seem to be saying that the transport policy clearly states that in making this preference transport would be denied.

LadyLapsang · 28/06/2025 20:07

Did you name the nearest secondary school in your own LA on your application? How far is that school from your home?Were you offered a place there? If not, which school in your own LA have you been offered?

Harrumphhhh · 28/06/2025 20:13

Just to be clear, you want taxpayers to fund your lifestyle choices?

Barrenfieldoffucks · 28/06/2025 20:30

Why all the bother about transport? Surely you had it planned for anyway?

MrsJigsaw · 28/06/2025 20:58

The council will only pay for transport to your nearest school, no matter what the circumstances.
Our council would have happily paid £££££ on private taxis every day to get my DC to his nearest school (school not accessible on public transport), but would not have paid ££ for a bus pass for use on existing public transport to a school just 0.5 miles further away. Crazy!

clary · 28/06/2025 21:13

As others say, I do not see why the appeal could succeed.

The council is not obliged to provide grammar schools (as you seem to be suggesting). The vast majority of councils do not. You have chosen (as I read it) to attend a school that is further away than your nearest school, which is your prerogative if there is a place there for your DC, but the council is not obliged to fund transport there.

How far away is it? How far are you from your nearest school? Tho even if that school is more than three miles away, you would only get transport costs paid if you listed it as top preference.

I live about 40 miles from the nearest selective state education; no council would have paid for me to send my DC there.

MrsJigsaw · 28/06/2025 21:15

Oh, and if your council is the same set up as mine, the appeals panel will be made up of council employees and councillors... so the likelihood of winning an appeal (even if its based on common sense, environmental factors, and financial benefits to the council), is pretty much zero as they won't deviate from their policy

Zippp · 28/06/2025 21:18

I have won a transport appeal, but wouldn’t fight this one: you chose a school further away.

If you can’t afford it, contact the school as they may be able to help children who get pupil premium. If you can afford it, stop trying to get someone else to pay.

stichguru · 28/06/2025 21:50

"They have schools and a frozen area in yet another county they agree to transport too all of which are further away from us to the grammar school."

You will only get funded transport if your child goes to the NEAREST school that will accept them and it is over a certain distance.

  • Children who's nearest school is the grammar school, and for whom other schools are over the accepted distance will get transport to another school if they DON'T get into the grammar.
  • Children who live further from ANY secondary school than your child does from the grammar and do get in, would get funded transport to the grammar school if they got in.

Your child could go to a nearer non-grammar, but has chosen to go to the grammar school further away, so you will need to fund transport.

prh47bridge · 28/06/2025 23:30

The rules are that the council must provide free transport if the school is more than 3 miles from home by the shortest safe walking route unless there are nearer schools available and you did not apply for them. There are some exceptions where the pupil has SEN or is eligible for free school meals.

If your daughter is eligible for free school meals, you may have a case. If she is not, I'm afraid the fact you didn't apply to the two nearer schools is fatal to your case. The fact those schools are not grammar schools is irrelevant.

Chewbecca · 28/06/2025 23:34

Can you clarify if there is a closer school within your own county or not?

yourefunningme · 28/06/2025 23:48

We are in this situation, grammar school DC is going to is approx half a mile further away than nearest school is, so no transport.

i wondered though - what if your nearest school is the grammar? If you choose not to go to it/don’t pass the 11+, does that mean you don’t get transport paid to the next nearest?

prh47bridge · 29/06/2025 10:02

yourefunningme · 28/06/2025 23:48

We are in this situation, grammar school DC is going to is approx half a mile further away than nearest school is, so no transport.

i wondered though - what if your nearest school is the grammar? If you choose not to go to it/don’t pass the 11+, does that mean you don’t get transport paid to the next nearest?

If your nearest school is a grammar school:

  • If your child fails the 11+ the LA cannot use the grammar school to refuse free transport
  • If your child does not sit the 11+ my view is that the LA cannot use the grammar school to refuse free transport. To do so they would have to argue that your child would have passed the 11+ had they sat it, which is unprovable
  • If your child passes the 11+ but you choose to send them elsewhere the LA can refuse free transport
Ian12345 · 13/08/2025 18:37

Appeals panels have power to overrule usual council policy. You have nothing to lose from appealing and everything to gain. Ask for a copy of the local authority school transport policy and then compare that with the requirement of the DfE Guidance to Councils on school transport. There may be inconsistencies and in particular the way the council apply discretionary powers. They can't blanket ban on protected characteristics and you may have a case that you don't yet know.

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