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Secondary education

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Original poster

Travelling to school? How?

131 replies

Animalover · 07/03/2026 07:10

Hello,

My daughter has an offer from a really good secondary school (top 10 in the UK), but unfortunately it is not local. We have a few travel options:

1. Driving:
I could drive her, but it would take about 45–70 minutes depending on traffic. We would need to leave home around 7:30–7:40 am.

2. School bus:
She would need to walk about 15 minutes to the school bus stop and catch it around 7:20 am.

3. Train:
She could take one overground train for about 25 minutes, then walk 10–12 minutes to the school. We live about 3 minutes from the train station, so she would leave home around 7:45 am.

Driving: It would be very hard for me to do this every day — it would mean almost 4 hours of driving per day for the school run.

School bus: It is quite an early start, and I am also worried about her walking to the bus stop in winter when it will still be dark. The road is quiet and there are no shops around, just houses.

Train: The start time is not too early, but she will only be 11 years old. Do you think this is okay? At the open day they said some children do this, but we have never experienced it so I’m not sure. If she uses the train, how long should I accompany her before letting her travel alone?

My daughter worked so hard for this school so trying to find the best option! Please share your ideas!

Thank you!

OP posts:
Newusername0 · 07/03/2026 10:05

A mix of driving and train. Driving when it’s particularly terrible weather or a little more frequently in the first year and let her get the train most of the time from year 8 onwards!

metalbottle · 07/03/2026 10:07

School bus all the way. She can do homework on it and it'll be a social place. And if she's late because of traffic on school bus she probably won't be marked as late.

Original poster
Animalover · 07/03/2026 10:07

Thank you so much, everyone! We moved to London seven years ago, and this is my first child. We don’t have any friends whose children received an offer from this school, so I was unsure about the safety and how she might feel about it. I understand that many children manage it well, so hopefully she will be fine. In the worst-case scenario, our local less selective school said they may always have a space for her, as she extremely well in entrance exam and earn scholarship.

OP posts:
Seeline · 07/03/2026 10:07

Mine was doing train then bus from Y6 in south london with no issues. Most London Y7s are using at least one form of public transport on their own.

What you need to have a plan for us the days when the trains are cancelled/on strike etc. There needs to be a plan B that you are prepared for every day - yes the train may leave at 7.40 but if that is cancelled, you need to be ready to catch the bus 20 mins earlier or whatever. And have a plan for your DD to get back home. And what the plan is when she has stayed late for sport/music etc.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 07/03/2026 10:09

Animalover · 07/03/2026 07:29

Thanks all!

I can drop her at the bus stop, but I have another daughter at home. I don’t know if we can both get ready and leave that early in the morning.
Are the trains in London safe for secondary school children? I’m also worried that if it’s crowded and they can’t find a seat, they might get tired. Bless them

I live in SE London and the trains are definitely safe for secondary school children. Most travel together but some alone.

Araminta1003 · 07/03/2026 10:10

@Animalover - you can ask the school how many kids travel in on trains and how many from your local area vs school bus. Usually they have data on this kind of thing.
If it is somewhere like City of London or Westminster or St Paul’s - as in one of the very selective ones - they will have a lot of children travelling in on trains. Same with all the very selective grammar schools.

Original poster
Animalover · 07/03/2026 10:12

@Araminta1003 yes school said majority of students travel by train or tube

OP posts:
Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 07/03/2026 10:12

I got the train by myself to a ballet class on Saturday mornings when I was 12, it was a 15 minute journey max and I was fine. I bought the old chocolate you could buy in vending machines on platforms which I thought was great!

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 07/03/2026 10:13

Seeline · 07/03/2026 10:07

Mine was doing train then bus from Y6 in south london with no issues. Most London Y7s are using at least one form of public transport on their own.

What you need to have a plan for us the days when the trains are cancelled/on strike etc. There needs to be a plan B that you are prepared for every day - yes the train may leave at 7.40 but if that is cancelled, you need to be ready to catch the bus 20 mins earlier or whatever. And have a plan for your DD to get back home. And what the plan is when she has stayed late for sport/music etc.

I agree re plans for cancellations as there are options from my local train station to use buses but you’d have to know which ones and where to go.

Fifthtimelucky · 07/03/2026 10:14

I agree with train. It sounds a very simple journey and presumably the train will be full of other students and commuters.

My daughters took the train to school from the start of year 7. The older one had a summer birthday so was only just 11 when term started in September. They had to walk to the station (about 8 minutes) catch a train (15-30 minutes, depending on whether it was a fast one or not), change onto another train (5 minutes) and then walk to school (less than 5 minutes).

We practised the journey, and in particular the change of train, in advance and it was never a problem.

Your daughter will probably make friends with other pupils before long and they will travel at least some of the way together.

LIZS · 07/03/2026 10:17

metalbottle · 07/03/2026 10:07

School bus all the way. She can do homework on it and it'll be a social place. And if she's late because of traffic on school bus she probably won't be marked as late.

Edited

I don’t think dc ever did homework on the bus. Way too noisy and space limited. Often got alerts that they had missed registration too.

Original poster
Animalover · 07/03/2026 10:18

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain thats sweet 🍫☺️

OP posts:
arlequin · 07/03/2026 10:22

Train sounds great. Def do that. She doesn’t need a seat

Original poster
Animalover · 07/03/2026 10:22

@LIZS I also heard majority kids doesn't like school busses and prefer public transport? I
I was always thinking its good especially when they finish late but In open day I asked kids and they said if their club finish at 4:30-5pm for example they dont want to wait for the late bus which is at 6pm so they use public transport instead. 🫣

OP posts:
Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 07/03/2026 10:25

Animalover · 07/03/2026 10:22

@LIZS I also heard majority kids doesn't like school busses and prefer public transport? I
I was always thinking its good especially when they finish late but In open day I asked kids and they said if their club finish at 4:30-5pm for example they dont want to wait for the late bus which is at 6pm so they use public transport instead. 🫣

The nearest private school to me some kids get buses/coaches and some public transport. That’s partly because it’s not that near a train station, it’s a good 10-15 mins walk. I suppose you have to endure you’re on time for the bus.

The one thing I would be more careful about is darker evenings. Ensuring she knows what to do if by herself and maybe someone picking her up from the station.

Clearinguptheclutter · 07/03/2026 10:30

Train best but I think bus option is reasonable if you can give her a lift to the bus stop.

You driving all the way to school doesn’t sound sustainable at all.

DuchessofStaffordshire · 07/03/2026 10:34

My son takes a bus to the train station in order to get to school very morning so uses both. He has done since year 7. He leaves at 0710 in the morning and gets home at 1610. My husband made the journeys with him on the first day so that he was confident to travel along the route independently. We make sure he has some reflective tags or bands on to improve visibility in the darker months as I think this is generally sensible.

user2848502016 · 07/03/2026 10:37

I’d be doing the train option. Practice with her over the summer holidays, go with her once then let her do the journey alone but be on hand to help if there are problems.
The first week see how she goes, plan to go with her the first day and then working towards being independent after the first day or two.
This is what we did when my DD had to start getting a bus to school. I was prepared to drive her for a couple of days but after day one she said she was fine alone.

stichguru · 07/03/2026 10:44

Train is fine and kids do it all the time. Although do think about whether the benefits of this school vs other schools are still there given the long journey and how far away her friends may live.

Seeline · 07/03/2026 10:55

I'm guessing the school coach has to be booked and paid for termly in advance, so can't just be used in the event of a train cancellation.
This is when I am in favour of a smart phone - a quick check on Google maps before leaving school will tell your DD when and if the trains are running and offer alternatives. Teach her how to use this - to work out what her best options are etc. It can show you bus routes etc you didn't know where available, how to get to the right bus stop etc. It means she doesn't have to go all the way to the station to be told trains are cancelled, but can have already worked out where to go.

clary · 07/03/2026 10:56

Animalover · 07/03/2026 10:07

Thank you so much, everyone! We moved to London seven years ago, and this is my first child. We don’t have any friends whose children received an offer from this school, so I was unsure about the safety and how she might feel about it. I understand that many children manage it well, so hopefully she will be fine. In the worst-case scenario, our local less selective school said they may always have a space for her, as she extremely well in entrance exam and earn scholarship.

@Animalover is she used to travelling on train or tube? With you even?

If not I would definitely start doing that now. And get her to make some independent journeys, perhaps with a friend, before the start of secondary. I am sure she will be fine.

Seeline · 07/03/2026 10:57

And if you live in London get her a 11-15 Zip Oyster card. Free bus and tube travel and reduce train fares. You just top it up online for her and she uses it to tap in/out.

user1460471313 · 07/03/2026 10:57

We leave the house at 7 for the school bus so I think these start times are absolutely fine. I wouldn’t drive her yourself though

Meadowfinch · 07/03/2026 10:59

We had the same issue with Peter Symonds in Hampshire.

In your situation, I'd choose the train. I went to school by train from 11 and it was easy.

Figgygal · 07/03/2026 11:15

Being a top 10 school isn't the be all and end all
We have one by us, but there's a terrible culture of bullying which the school denies. There's a complete lack of safeguarding or mental health concern from the school leadership. There's protests at the school about their excessively strict policies around uniform and their SEN provision is so lacking that it forces most children with additional needs to seek alternative schools.

How is your daughter supposed to maintain friendship or any extracurricular activities through the school when you live that far away?