Tiffin - How far would you let your DS travel from?

[catonhottinroof]

Been a bit surprised by distances people are prepared to travel for a good school, so, presuming your DS gets a place, how far will he be travelling to get there? In our case it's only a few miles.

[la boume]

10 min walk?

[huntlie]

Well ,it certainly should be no more than a 10 minute walk! Once upon a time - way back in the ancient times when Grammar Schools really were open to everyone, and when they really did give working class kids a ladder of opportunity - Tiffin took most of its boys from the nearby Council Estate. Not any longer.

[doodles]

Here in W.Kent DS travels 15 miles to school and this is quite a normal journey hereabouts.

10 minute walk we don't have a shop within a ten minute walk let alone a school

[a2ihe]

If my daughter will get in, it will be hour and a half journey! We WOULD look to relocate though.

[cinnamon]

Both times I went to the Tiffin Girls open evenings the head stressed the importance of punctuality and basically said they made no allowances for the fact pupils may have long and/or difficult journeys, which I thought was fair enough.

I'm amazed by parents who claim to be willing to drive 40 minutes or more daily to drop children off (and then 40 minutes back, of course). I've heard of girls in my area who go to Kendrick School in Reading. I used to live opposite that school and I wouldn't want to make that journey (just over an hour by train) twice a day, let alone subject an 11-year-old to it.

Ultimately I suppose it depends on how dire you feel your other options are.

[atestingtime]

Boy at Tiffin - now in upper 6th - has travelled in daily from his house next to IKEA up on the North Circular - now theres a trek for an 11 year old! Food for thought for all those of us worried over a bus journey - try bus, underground, train and bus.

He has also been in the teams for Rugby and cricket so comes back at weekends too.
The right school really matters to some.............

[WOTMum]

I feel a lot less guilty now about tackling what is only about a 7m drive to Tiffin Girls, but could take a while due to Hampton Court/Kingston Bridge road likely being chocca every morning. So either a long slow crawl or an early start as there is no train or bus route that would get an 11 year old close enough, safely enough without at least 2 changes plus walks in the middle and end. She could tackle it when she's a bit older I'm sure - need to get a place first! Missing the SCC 801 service which will be lost at the end of this school year - was banking on it but will really make our lives tougher should DD get a place.

[overpeck]

I have been doing a 9mile school run for about 5 years and have another 5 years to go... I look forward to the school holidays. I got a job in the town my girls go to school 3 days a week to avoid doing the journey twice a day every day.

[Doblinski]

It's a personal thing, but upto 45 mins. I think it's important that where possible the child gets themselves to school. Despite the Tiffin Head stressing that pupils should travel to school by public transport in under an hour, many parents are doing a long drive from miles away to get their DC to school every morning and afternoon. It's a shame we don't have more local Grammer schools.