Which school? 45 min walk too far?

[mamnotmum]

My child is 10 and we are looking at secondary schools.

There is a choice of 3 -

school 1 - walkable in minutes. Didn’t really like it. Ofsted wasn’t great.

school 2 - 10 mins on a direct bus. It’s doing well and newly built.

school 3 - highly accepted as the best in the area and we loved it BUT it’s either a 45 min walk or 15 min cycle (child isn’t confident but we could work on that) or a bus to school 2 and then a 20min walk. Dropping off/collecting would be very difficult due to work commitments and also it’s in a very busy area so lots of traffic. No friends would be doing the same journey.

I want school 3 to work and child loved it but is nervous about commuting in the rain/cold. Please give me your thoughts?!

2 miles is probably quite a normal walk for Secondary.
Even if primary friends aren't going to same school they will probably find new friends on a similar route, even if it isn't the whole way.

Assuming that admission distances are as the crow flys and walking duration is along roads. So it is possible it is just over 2 miles (crow) and a 45 minute walk.

I would say for many, the 45 minute walk is going to be long! The 15 minute bike ride is not, and until confidence is up, a 20 minute walk and a bus isn’t too bad. If you all liked school 3 I would go with that.

Ours have done a 2 mile walk for years and it’s been brilliant for their physical and mental health; Kid A especially has my lazyarse tendencies and could have spiralled if not for unavoidable walks. Kid B even rejects lift offers in tipping rain to walk in with friends.

Have you done the walk with your DS? Maybe do that so they can decide are they happy doing that twice a day for 5 years plus.
If not school 2 sounds almost as good and if any friends are going there it could make all the difference to how the school feels

school 3. 2/3 miles on a bike for secondary school is normal round here and should be entirely doable unless there is a massive hill. You can practice in the meantime. As long as the route is safe.

I also think 45 minutes is ok to walk if its the best school in the area

I would definitely try walking it now with a rucksack. My daughter’s rucksack is really heavy and some days she is also carrying a sports bag. I wouldn’t be able to walk 45 minutes with her rucksack (although her school includes carrying quite a bit of homework each day and a Chromebook which is much heavier than my work laptop/rucksack!)

Is your child likely to come home by themselves after co-curriculars some days? Do you know when those might finish/would that impact the decision to want to walk?

I’d also try the route closer to Christmas when it’s wet and dark in case that impacts how your child feels about it. From the mixed responses here I think some children would be fine and others not so much depending on how they feel/general temperament/correct clothes/will they be in sports matches/after school commitments/how much a particular school requires you to carry!

Thanks everyone.

I haven’t done the exact walk with my son but plan to get the bus to school 2 and then walk from there to school 3 at the weekend.

After school clubs usually end at 4 so hopefully wouldn’t be doing the journey in the dark.

A good point about carrying a rucksack though - I know the school have lockers so maybe that would help a little.

I asked my son again about school 3 and he said ‘I really wanted to like school 1 better but school 3 was just so good’.

I really appreciate the comments - I feel like mostly they’ve been in favour of school 3 which is sort of what I was hoping!

Our secondary schools were a 15-20min walk from the bus depot and we all survived fine whilst carting around sports kit, hockey sticks, home ec baskets, musical instruments and half our own body weight in books!

My DS is now Year 13 and walks a similar distance to and from school everyday. Has done since Year 7 (apart from the Lockdowns).

It’s very doable and good for his health. If it was 2 miles along country roads with no pavements, that would be different.

Go for the school he likes the best and go from there. And invest in a very good waterproof coat.

If the school has lockers than that will help so much, as he can wear a proper warm coat and then put it away in his locker at school, and won't have to carry all his things all the time.

Personally, I think a 45 minute walk is too
long. Remember, he’ll have to do it with sports kit, a double bass and cooking stuff in the rain( because he’s bound to need them all on the same day)And late because of rehearsals. And what about going to friend’s houses after school?

Never underestimate the amount of stress a complicated or long journey for your child will add to your/ their day. Think about when they have a cold, when it's raining or when they are having a bad day. I would go for school 2.

My DD has a similar walk to her school, though she sometimes gets the bus (if there's space!). It's fine and worth it for the school she goes to.
She's not sporty so frankly needs the exercise.
Esp as the school's lunches aren't very healthy 😬

I’m torn here to be honest.

i don’t think 45 mins is too long - my DDs walk is 30 mins, or 45 mins when she is walking with friends - but I’m not sure how she would have been doing it on her own every day. It’s only now that she is older that she actually prefers to walk on her own.

realistically I think if you want him to go to school 3 you need to work out how you can at least take him part of the way in the morning and pick him up after school.

1st year at high school option 3 sounds a lot

i was fortunate to have a friends parent say they would take me and my friend to school the first year then they were moving closer to the school so I was on my own

by 2 nd year I was happy to keep my bus fair and walk but it was really an hour each way and I got distracted

i do think you need to do the walk or communing at your child’s pace and have them left to their own devices to see what it really is

I’m sure he’ll be fine, many kids take all different kinds of transport w no worries.

It’s very thoughtful to do the walk with them to see how they feel abt the journey & im sure they’ll be others walking to the bus too.

I had very similar options when I was younger and went w option 3 (6min walk, bus 20m & 15m walk). My only concern was that my friends lived further away but sometimes I stayed in their area & I was fortunate to have friends closer to town where I lived too. As he gets older it won’t be an issue at all!

He’ll be at school for 6/7 hrs 5 days a week, so having the right school is vimportant!

What kind of walking route are we talking if dc wants to do a club that finishes at 5pm and they have to walk or cycle home in the dark? Or early mornings? Our school has some sports clubs that start at 7.15am. Is it safe enough and well lit?

Does the school have lockers where dc could leave a pair of dry shoes if their feet get wet in the morning or will they be in their damp wet stuff all day?

The issue I have with my kids walking to secondary school is how ridiculously heavy their bags are. Both have chrome books, and by the time they’ve added in all their books and equipment, they weigh a tonne. Plus they often have packed lunches and PE kits too.

I don’t like the thought of them lugging all that lot on the nearly 2 miles to school - and especially not back again, which is mostly uphill!

My daughter is in Yr10 now and has walked 30-45 mins every day since she started. Likes chatting with friends - lots of kids cycle. It's just outside the distance for free transport, and the private bus got so expensive no one used it and it was cancelled before she started. If the weather is really bad some parents offer lifts. There are probably 400 kids from our neighbourhood going daily and most of them make thier own way a few parents do lifts.

Wow. We live in a town with 4 schools (Cheshire) and our closest school is a 45 minute walk. Kids do it every day. No public transport either.

It doesn't matter what school his friends go to. They don't stick with the same friends anyway. My child went to a school (faith) with no other friends and is thriving. It's a 20 min bus ride. Out of interest why can't they get a bus the whole way? Yes it is doable I had a similar journey myself a bus and a 25 min walk. Put it down as 1st choice and hope you get it. Where do you live thst you could get in to a choice of three schools. Go with your gut, you get a feeling about a school when you visit.

45 minutes is a long way with heavy books, PE kit and food tech (think lasagne). If you can sometimes pick up all well and good. But if never I wouldn’t do it. They often have to come home, go back in the evening, get home again.

My boys walk about 40 mins home uphill from school. It is nasty when it's wet but they survive. I assume you will be deciding later this year so try to have another look around the schools before a final choice and try the commutes out on a weekend.

I’d go for three and live closer or develop a lift sharing timetable