I have got a bee in my bonnet

[MmeOgg]

None of this is possible with hour+ commutes! The children who do this are imvho not part of their schools community merely people who show up for lessons.

IMVHO you are wrong to make such a sweeping generalisation. My DD would be devastated to think that you feel she isn't part of her school community. She values her friends and community hugely. She attends out of school activities and events. I'm not sure how she could be more a part of the community. But you feel she is "merely" a pupil.

[loopylala]

No need to get a bee in your bonnet about anything. read things, disagree by all means and move on. No need to get personal or even make this post.

You might want to take your own advice under consideration.

[pinkrabbit38]

At the end of the day it's nobody else's business whether you send your child to a school 5 minutes away or an hour away!

I get fed up of 'certain' people always replying "don't send your child on that kind of journey!!" when someone asks about the best way to travel to a certain school from a certain location, if you haven't got anything useful to say as in 'take this train, get this bus etc...' then don't respond, how is it helpful to always say something negative about the journey???

[kenyancowgirl]

To be brutally honest, pinkrabbit38, if people simply want train and bus information then they need to pull their finger out and use Google search engine to find the relevant timetables.

This is an 11+ forum where people will give advice and information - some of this advice may be unsolicited or unwelcome but it is given, moreoften than not, with good intentions, often based on many years experience of watching children being set up to fail with horrendous journeys.

[scary mum]

I have heard staff at our school say that it is a shame that so many people live so far away from the school and that it affects the feeling of community (certainly for the parents). The comment I heard was that parents wish to post their children in at one end and get a lawyer or doctor out at the other end without getting involved in between. The PTA have become unable to put on any events because people will not attend them due to distance. I know senior schools differ from primary schools but i think it is a terrible shame. Our local Upper Schools have a much better sense of community as they draw from a more local pool

[Colcmum]

People are sharing their concerns, often completely justified concerns. Parents posting about travel on a forum about exams are going to have to take the responses they get, positive and negative. And it DOES affect us and our children (and their school) which is why many of us post, although most of the replies to those sort of threads on here DO put the poster's child as first priority.

I personally watched tired girls travel long distances, miss days of school due to the effect of weather on the transport system and not participate fully in school events, activities and clubs. The majority of them did not stay on for sixth form, they transferred to closer schools. This was at the grammar school I was a student at until 2000, so not that long ago. And it had a catchment of about 10 miles and the transport infrastructure of south London/Kent, very different to some of the Essex towns. I travel many of the journeys proposed on here at different times of the day, some of the journeys suggested can take double the estimated time due to traffic, a fact parents suggesting the journey are not aware of. If transport is cancelled (train in particular) and your 11 year old is stranded 60 miles away, being aware it can happen and having a back up plan is pretty important. DH commutes daily to London and at this time of year I drive all over the place picking him up from the nearest station he could get to.

If you are in Romford (for example), its pretty difficult to get an idea of what morning traffic can be like in Chelmsford, Colchester or Southend. The level of disruption and cancellation on the trains is also something that many people are not familiar with, especially if they aren't doing it everyday. You are committing your child to a seven year journey, starting at 11. Sometimes in the excitement of the 11+ results its very easy to dismiss or brush aside the actual logistics and realities of this sort of travel.

[loopylala]

I get fed up of 'certain' people always replying "don't send your child on that kind of journey!!" when someone asks about the best way to travel to a certain school from a certain location, if you haven't got anything useful to say as in 'take this train, get this bus etc...' then don't respond

So you don't think it is useful for people to say:

1) The journey will be very problomatic. Bus X,Y,Z is prone to not turning up, running late etc. etc. Train line X,Y,Z is not very reliable or you child won't get a seat so will likely have to stand for the better part of an hour.

2) Consider travel arrangements outside of normal school hours.

3) Consider the impact on your childs academic performance if they are tired (yes it is well know that children don't perform as well when they are tired. Schools often advise parents to ensure their child has a good nights sleep before an exam).

4) Consider the impact when you child hits puberty and starts sleeping for England

5) Consider the impact of sleep deprivation when it comes to mental health issues. Lets not forget the bad tempers and emotional outbursts that children have when they are tired too.

6) Consider the impact when you child wants to attend study groups/support groups/extra revision sessions in the run up to GCSEs/A Levels

7) Consider the social side of things

I think if someone is asking about travel arrangements for a journey that is very evidently going to be problematic, I think it is far to assume the above points may not have been considered, yet you are saying that people are not being helpful by pointing them out?

[yoyo123]

As a 29 year old, non- driving, first year student at uni I had to catch a bus to Canterbury and back. It takes me about 30 minutes in a car. I had to walk to get the 07:30 bus, then change again in order to get there for 09:00 lectures. Similarly some days I didn't get home until 8. I was permanently exhausted, and sometimes the thought of then sitting down and writing up reports was awful.

The journey looked do-able on paper, but the reality was very different. That was in the 80s and the traffic is much worse now especially in the mornings. It is up to individuals of course, but think very carefully.

[Guest55]

Mods, I wonder if this could be moved to another section? This isn't really just about Essex.

[pinkrabbit38]

I get fed up of 'certain' people always replying "don't send your child on that kind of journey!!" when someone asks about the best way to travel to a certain school from a certain location, if you haven't got anything useful to say as in 'take this train, get this bus etc...' then don't respond

So you don't think it is useful for people to say:

1) The journey will be very problomatic. Bus X,Y,Z is prone to not turning up, running late etc. etc. Train line X,Y,Z is not very reliable or you child won't get a seat so will likely have to stand for the better part of an hour.

2) Consider travel arrangements outside of normal school hours.

3) Consider the impact on your childs academic performance if they are tired (yes it is well know that children don't perform as well when they are tired. Schools often advise parents to ensure their child has a good nights sleep before an exam).

4) Consider the impact when you child hits puberty and starts sleeping for England

5) Consider the impact of sleep deprivation when it comes to mental health issues. Lets not forget the bad tempers and emotional outbursts that children have when they are tired too.

6) Consider the impact when you child wants to attend study groups/support groups/extra revision sessions in the run up to GCSEs/A Levels

7) Consider the social side of things

I think if someone is asking about travel arrangements for a journey that is very evidently going to be problematic, I think it is far to assume the above points may not have been considered, yet you are saying that people are not being helpful by pointing them out?

Most people on here have a brain and will have considered these things before asking for information about a particular journey.....I just wonder sometimes (and this isn't directed at anyone specific) the motive behind putting people off applying for certain schools!!