Travel from Bristol

Eleven Plus (11+) in Gloucestershire (Glos)

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sandman
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:55 am

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by sandman »

Would I want my child to commute from Bristol? No.

However, pupils commute to Gloucester from: Bristol, Swindon, Ross, Upton, Ledbury, Evesham, East Gloucestershire and the Forest.

Several have hour or more commutes.

Some pupils are on site before 7:30 am and until after 5:00 pm waiting for transport. They do their homework.

It can be done.

Some pupils have no interest in after school activities and have a perfectly normal social/active life in their home town.

A Bristol commute can be done. But not for me.
Jellyicecream
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 11:01 am

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by Jellyicecream »

I only know of one lad in my son's class who is from Bristol, however the have bought a second home in Gloucester which is walking distance to school and they go back to Bristol for weekends.
The lads Dad works in Gloucester so has been doing the Bristol to Gloucester journey before his son started school here and he knows it well enough to not make his son do it.

Of course not all of us can afford a second home! Is there no chance of a move to Gloucester and you commute rather than your child? TBH I wish people would move here and contribute to our county, buy in our shops etc rather than just take our school places :-/ I know I will be shot down for saying that! But please just move here.
Tricky123
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:53 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by Tricky123 »

Jellyicecream wrote:I only know of one lad in my son's class who is from Bristol, however the have bought a second home in Gloucester which is walking distance to school and they go back to Bristol for weekends.
The lads Dad works in Gloucester so has been doing the Bristol to Gloucester journey before his son started school here and he knows it well enough to not make his son do it.

Of course not all of us can afford a second home! Is there no chance of a move to Gloucester and you commute rather than your child? TBH I wish people would move here and contribute to our county, buy in our shops etc rather than just take our school places :-/ I know I will be shot down for saying that! But please just move here.
Exactly, pay taxes in our county for starters!
ash14
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2016 6:37 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by ash14 »

My son has a friend who travels to the Crypt from Bristol and I know someone who travels to STR from Bristol too. The are both in year 7. I believe its worth contacting the schools or Denwell Bus who do the run from Swindon and see if they are considering putting together a bus route for the schools from Bristol- they may have something in pipeline...well done to your son :D
Kismet
Posts: 195
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 8:23 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by Kismet »

Hello. I don't know the schools in Bristol so I can't judge your decision. When I was considering schools for DS I was initially adamant that I wouldn't consider Gloucester grammars as it was too far for my DS from Cheltenham. I then realised how common it was and how hard it is to get into Pates and that there are direct bus services running. Two years on and DS is now year 8 at Tommies. He gets quite tired still and when I can't wake him in the morning at 6.45 for a 7.35 bus I regret that he travels for an hour and half more than his friends at the local comp. Nonetheless he says he would rather stay at Tommies than transfer to the comp.

In his class is a boy who travelled daily from Bristol. He was unable to do the after school rugby club as it would mess with his travel schedule. I believe the boy drove down with his dad. I understand the family has now relocated to Cheltenham.

It's not impossible but please do put a lot of thought into the implications before taking the decision to impose that journey on your son. As other forumites say it's not just the basic journey you need to consider but all the extras. My DS, last year, had about 5 or 6 detentions and he's not a particularly naughty boy. Most were for doing but forgetting to take homework. Even those few detentions severely disrupted my day as I had other things I was supposed to be doing with DD. I don't know how much harder it would have been if I had worked full time.

Anyway, congratulations to your DC for doing so well and good luck to you both, whatever the future holds.
ayroxy
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:58 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by ayroxy »

Hi nav-dah, first of all congratulations to your DC. I used to live in Bristol but moved to Gloucester last summer. My ds took the exams in 2014 and got qualifying marks for Marling and The Crypt. I too was in the same dilemma but decided to move because the journey was too difficult for an 11 yr old. I commute to Bristol for work and it's a nightmare but I am happy we moved to Gloucester. Please look at this posting from earlier on in the year where a group of people were trying to organise transportation from Bristol. You can pm http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... ol#p560613" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck whatever your decision is.
steppemum
Posts: 480
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:27 am

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by steppemum »

Hi, bit hesitant to post on here as I am out of county.

But, our kids travel to Stroud from Swindon. We thought long and hard about the distance versus the benefit of the schools etc.

One thing that swung it for me was the type of travel and the flexibility of it.
So, my kids do 1 hour door to door. I wouldn't want them to do longer. In fact there is a bus that does this route, that some kids go on, it leaves at 7 am, and takes nearly 1.5 hours. I would not do that, for us, really Stroud was the only option because of the train.

My kids cycle to the station (10 minutes + 5 minutes to lock up bike) then get the train (30 minutes) it is quiet, in the opposite direction to commuters, and is a local 2 carriage train. There are quite a group of them across the 2 schools on the train. (maybe 25 total?) At the other end they walk up the hill (15 minutes)
This works because it is quite an easy, relaxed journey. It is occasionally 5-10 minutes late, and in the last 2 years the train has been cancelled about 3-4 times, when I drove them in and they were not late. In fact there has only been once that they were truly late due to the train.

This also means that they can go to after school clubs and then just get a later train home. If they have a lot to carry/raining I take them to the station. They leave home at 7:30 and return at 4:45. I think that is a lot earlier than some kids travelling from places which are closer. They have friends who go on the train, so easily have access to friends after school/holidays if they want to.

There is no way I would take on a longer journey, and I would hate them sitting on a stuffy bus the whole way ( I like the fact they have a cycle and walk in the morning to wake them up and stretch their legs)
They do get tired.
Think hard about the journey, and how realistic and doable it really is.
Frostythesnowman
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:53 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by Frostythesnowman »

My children are both already at secondary school but I find it totally bizarre that anyone would want their child to travel all that way to school and back each day. My DD originally went to school at Denmark Road, (we're in Cheltenham) and after three years there she declared she wanted to move to a Cheltenham school for her GCSE's . She was finding the bus and its restrictions too much and it was only a 45 minute max journey at rush hour (less in the evening). She felt it was a mad rush into lessons in the morning (some mornings she only got there by the skin of her teeth - very stressful); she could only do clubs at lunchtime as I wasn't able to pick her up in the evenings - if she chose an after school club and missed the school bus I would have to get her. A lot of the socialising after school was in Gloucester too and she couldn't take part as easily. Kids birthday parties also in Gloucester. A lot of her friends were Gloucester friends and Forest friends and that was just a bit too far to keep doing all the time (for us as a family I mean).

Another friend also did the same from Ribston - after a year decided to come back to a Cheltenham school - same reasons.

Think about the life you want for your child very seriously. Don't do it for you. They've achieved something good but if you're going to take the place, please move house. I don't think it's a fair thing to expect of an 11 year old (or a 16 year old for that matter). Just my honest opinion. Not meant to offend, just to inform and help you think it through.
Mrsdevonshire
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 7:30 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by Mrsdevonshire »

To add it's a hideous journey which I used to do work wise. So draining and all I wanted to do was sleep at the weekend.

We relocated a few years ago (about 8yrs) and that isn't easy on it's own unless you know people. We found it very hard on many levels but our children were pre school so them starting at school helped us make friends and establish social connections.

I can well understand the lure of a grammar school place and you clearly have a bright boy on yours hands. He will therefore do well anywhere. Where does he want to go? A GS is great but (in my opinion) only if it's near your home. I know some children travel in from out of county and that doesn't seem right to me on many levels. Mainly from the child's point of view. It can be a long old day at only 11yrs old. No after school clubs etc Or seeing old friends during the week which has been important to my DS to help him settle at his school.

But also (controversial topic locally) - the one about 'out of county' taking our school places. I'm surprised it is allowed by the LA though understand from the GS's point of view they just want the best available. But every child that travels in, means another much closer doesn't get a place. Surely if we live a few miles from a GS we are entitled to think of it as within our catchment area? I don't think we are though.

Lots to think about and not long to decide! Good luck and congratulations to your DS. An achievement that no-one can take away from him.

Mrs D x
AllzWell
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 2:13 pm

Re: Travel from Bristol

Post by AllzWell »

Hello,

Just noticed this thread about travel from bristol. My DD goes to HSFG and we are based in north bristol.
We are group of parents who are in the process of arranging a transport which commutes from
North bristol to HSFG, Thomas Rich, Marling basically to Gloucester. We would like to hear from
parents who are similarly interested.

Please pm me if you want to discuss.

Regards
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