Choosing a school based on commute, AuDHD, and being a bad sleeper

[School123Choices]

Is it unreasonable to select a specific secondary school, i.e place it first in our order of preferences solely on it having the shortest commute time?

My daughter was previously a LAC, and so we can select our preferred school. We have narrowed it down to one of these three, different but we understand similar quality schools:

Besides each school is the total commute time, i.e. door to door, all commutes have been extensively trialled, so we know our preferred mode of transport and transition points for each one.

Camden School for Girls - 35 minutes (including 5 minutes on Overground)
St Marylebone CE - 39 minutes (including 27 minutes on bus)
Grey Coat Hospital - 50 minutes (including 14 minutes on tube)

Daughter struggles massively with sleep, suspected AuDHD might be contributing factor. Getting to sleep is difficult, once she's asleep, she then sleeps very deeply, which makes waking up the next morning really tough. Coupled with her executive functioning which oftentimes is a bit lot awry, having a short commute might possibly make mistakes less likely - I'm not sure.

If all else is equal, with regards how much daughter likes the schools, quality of subjects and opportunities offered; is selecting one of these schools purely based on quality/ duration of commute a rational and justifiable response to my daughter's sleep and AuDHD troubles? Nb. Sleep troubles are being investigated and tackled, but cannot guarantee success at this point.

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As an aside, do you know these schools? Are there any reasons we should actively avoid or actively choose one of these, based on daughter's suspected AuDHD?

We don't have an EHCP, we know that without an EHCP in place, support will be practically non-existent at most secondary schools, but is there anything else we as outsiders should be aware of about these three schools whilst making these decisions?

Thanks so much for anyone who has read this far.

I don’t know them at all - but I’d agree with picking the shortest commute if all else is equal. Long commutes drain you, and she’s got enough issues that will tire her.

I know people at the first two. They're all excellent schools but I'm afraid I don't know what SEN provision is like. St Marylebones has amazing music and drama provision. CSG is very academic as is Grey Coats I think. Unless she's particularly into music or drama, I'd probably go for CSG as the closest. I don't know enough about Grey Coats to know if the extra commute time would be worth it.

Are there any school that are closer than CSG? Just commuting by public transport can add extra stress. My elder daughter commutes by overground & train, and it's always a nightmare on strike days. Make sure that you have an alternative route, Dd1 gets the bus when there's a strike.

Dd2 goes to the local girls school that's a 15 minute walk and definitely has the less stressful existence in that respect.

Is she going to commute with even a 35 minute commute? Underground at rush hour seems quite a challenge if she has issues

Don’t assume no help with out an EHCP, does she have a diagnosis? We got lots of “reasonable” adjustments on the basis of diagnosis and me being That Parent who met the Sendco on day2, these included quieter start going in early via a send breakfast club, early leaving 5mins before end bell, quiet club at lunch time, send base access for sensory breaks, reduced homework in year 7 & modified timetable all with no EHCP. Unfortunately for us these weren’t enough we did get a EHCP in year8 & she left MS education. But very academically able doing GCSEs now via another route. I’d choose the school most likely to offer good support.

Have you spoken to the SENDCOs at these schools? I think that would be my first port of call as that may sway your decision.
My initial reaction is that GCH seems too far, I wouldn't have sent mine that far for secondary, though one is considering a similar commute for a sixth form. I can't say whether it's worth such a long commute because it's the school I'm least familiar with of the three.
I think the other two commutes seem OK if you think she can manage. Bear in mind that CSG has tight catchments so most girls live close by with a small number commuting longer distances. Whereas StM and GCH have lots of girls coming from much further. Particularly StM has plenty commuting from north west London (Hampstead, West Hampstead, Kensal Rise etc). So depending where you live she might have others to travel with.
I can't really tell where you live (tube to GCH but not StM, Mildmay to CSG - perhaps Islington? understand you may not want to be too specific). I have a friend whose child goes to school in Richmond from NW London for just over a year and their preferred route is Mildmay line, friend was telling me it has been very unreliable since they've been at the school and they've had to switch to the tube and then train on numerous occasions over the last year resulting in a very long commute for her daughter who is exhausted by the weekend. I was surprised that it has been so unreliable lately as I used this line to commute for many years. I seem to remember it being fairly unreliable in the mid 2000s but being pretty good by the 2010s. Might be worth asking anyone else you know who uses this line to commute if the info from my friend is correct (that you can't really rely on it). Would her alternative route be a nightmare? And what is her alternative to GCH if the tube not running? My kids commute by tube but have one direct bus they can take if there is a strike / tube not running, it just takes longer and they both prefer the quicker journey by tube.

If you are in Islington, have you looked at St Mary Magdalene? it may be a shorter commute.

No idea about the schools but have you tried her with melatonin?

Tube is also collapsing.

AuDHD coupled with sleep disorder are likely to affect performance under pressure and coping with exams. I'd choose the least pressurised school.

My autistic DS had a sleep disorder after head injury and it massively affected his studies, much more than autism. If your DD's sleep issues are co-morbid with AuDHD, I'd prepare to deal with it long term.

I would be asking about SEN and pastoral care on local FB groups.

We have 2 schools very close to us. One has terrible SEN provision and teaching not great. It gets much better results though, through supportive parents and many SEN children leaving. My eldest went here and didn't do that well at all (similar sounding neuro diversity to yours). The other local school gets a huge range of results but average much, much lower. They are a wonderful school, very inclusive, great discipline, great pastoral, great teaching. My younger 2 went here and I was so so impressed despite being initially gutted. I'm a bit sad I didn't send my eldest here, would've been a lot better for his confidence. Lucky for us, both schools were walking distance.

In terms of length of commute, being nearer doesn't help. I know this because my younger son is terrible and leaves everything last minute however long he's got! However, I would go for the easiest commute eg. What has the most trains/ bus per hour in case of missing it.

@StormywalksWintersorry to hijack but via what route now?