From Penn to Burnham Grammar?

josephine · Post by **josephine** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:36 pm

My son has been offered a place at Burnham Grammar School, for entry into year 8 this September, having passed the 12+.
On the one hand this is good news. On the other hand it presents us with the problem of getting him from Penn to/from Burnham. No public transport and no school buses come as far as Penn.

Does anyone have a child at Burnham and live near Penn, and would consider a lift-share? Or know anyone who might?

Thx.

All Too Much · Post by **All Too Much** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:53 pm

Hi Josephine

Can I ask a few questions?

Were you offered Burnham as it was the closest school to you with a vacancy or was it your choice over another GS with spaces? As you live in Bucks, if County offered you BGS as the closest school with a space for your child, then I believe they have to provide the transport.

However, if you turned down a GS closer to where you live out of choice, then they are not obliged to provide transport.

Have a word with the transport section of Bucks CC and see what they can advise. I have always found them helpful.

Good luck.

ATM

josephine · Post by **josephine** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:39 pm

Hi ATM,
BGS was our third choice - late transfer following 12+.

It is council policy 'not to provide free transport to pupils attending a non-catchment area school if offered through the late transfer procedure'.

So we on our own as far as transport goes.
Don't know if it is possible to appeal this kind of thing? I'm kind of sick and tired of appeals ...

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:53 am

Qualifying for free home to school transport

We provide free home to school transport to children who:

* are of statutory school age or rising 5 (the term in which they turn 5)
* live in Buckinghamshire
* are attending their nearest appropriate school or catchment school. Please note that in the cases of the Cottesloe School and Beaconsfield High School, transport is not provided from all of the current catchment area and you should consult the map in the 'Guide For Parents' . Catchment areas changed in 2005 and all eligibility decisions are made on the basis whether the home was in catchment according to the catchment area at the point the child joined the school. Decisions are not made retrospectively.
* If we offer you a school that you ranked below your catchment school because we cannot offer you your catchment school, we will help with transport under the usual rules. However, this school must be the nearest appropriate school with a place to your home address. If you want be certain of being offered transport if we are not able to offer a place at your catchment school, you must rank your nearest school preferences in distance order, closest first.
* If we can't offer a place at your ranked catchment school and we offer you a place at a school that you have not ranked, we will provide transport subject to the usual rules and, presuming you donâ€™t, at any later point, turn down a place at your catchment school.
* The arrangement for free transport applies to schools in Buckinghamshire plus those in neighbouring authorities if they are either:
o designated to serve parts of Buckinghamshire or
o the nearest appropriate school to a Buckinghamshire address.

This is what it says on the following page:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/schools/transport.page?

Ambridge · Post by **Ambridge** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:55 am

Unless it has changed this year, originally last year, my son was allocated our second choice school after 12+ and we were offered free transport (albeit the bus was full by the time we applied!) and the school was not in catchment.

We filled in all the forms to go on the bus waiting list and were told they would have to provide some form of transport in the event he wasn't allocated a place on the school bus by the end of August.

(However, after winning a late transfer appeal we were finally allocated our catchment grammar and a place on the bus which goes through our village - organised very late with the help of BCC Transport again)

I would definitely look into it further. BCC Transport are very nice - by the end of last summer I felt I knew them like family

josephine · Post by **josephine** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:42 pm

Thanks for the responses.
I will contact BCC again, but it is in their letter that they write that it is council policy 'not to provide free transport to pupils attending a non-catchment area school if offered through the late transfer procedure'.

But I agree that the info at the web link does not seem to be exactly in agreement with this.

Sally-Anne · Post by **Sally-Anne** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:43 pm

I think you have grounds for a serious quibble there Josephine!

Without going over all the rules in detail, I find myself asking why 12+/13+ children are apparently treated as "second-class"?

I don't think that his point has come up before on the Bucks Forum so please do let us know how you get on, and do PM (Private Message) me if you need to.

Sally-Anne