The Green Bus from Handsworth Boys

[jym]

Hi jym

We live between Dudley and Wolverhampton and DS has used the Metro since the beginning of Yr7 - now in Yr8. You are correct - there is no Green Bus service over here which would serve HGS. We could have chosen other grammar schools but decided on HGS as our first choice as the journey is so straight-forward. I am aware of the importance of distance and was not willing to commit him to a long and tiring daily commute. Driving him to school is not an option for us due to our working hours and so public transport was our only option.

We started getting him used to the journey at the end of Yr6 on the Open Night and Induction Day. We asked if there was any sort of 'travel buddy' system in place and were told there was not. This is because the staff 'cannot tell pupils who they have to go home with', this has to be an informal arrangement between parents /pupils but can only happen once term has started and they work out who travels where and how - unless you link up first on this forum of course! The first day of term fell on a Wednesday and I travelled with him there and back for the first 2 days, with the intention of doing this for at least the first week, however on the Friday morning he announced he was fine now and didn't need me to accompany him anymore!

DS has found the best way to school is to alight at Winson Green Outer Circle stop and walk straight up Boulton Rd. This is because Yrs 7 - 11 enter and exit the school via the back gate in Dawson Rd and not the front entrance in Grove Lane. I prefer him to cross the Soho Rd at the top of Boulton Rd as there is a central reservation and railings there as well as a pedestrian crossing, whereas at the top of Nineveh Rd there is only a pedestrian crossing. An added safety bonus for peace of mind when they are travelling alone. He has only been late for school once when a tram broke down and blocked the line in West Bromwich; it didn't faze him, he followed the other commuters, walked to West Brom bus station and caught the No.74 to the Soho Rd. There were a few break-downs in the afternoons over the summer which I understand was due to the heat causing problems with the overhead lines, our back-up plan if the trams let him down is the No.74 to Dudley but this is quite a long journey.

Another bonus from the Winson Green stop is that it sits on 2 bus routes, both run very frequently. The No.101 runs up Nineveh Rd and drops them at the junction with Dawson Rd/Grove Lane, the No.11 runs up Boulton Rd then turns left onto the Soho Rd so they alight just after the left turn then walk back and up Dawson Rd. The first option means they do not have to cross the Soho Rd on foot, with the second option they still do. As others have said, the walk takes approx. 10 mins, slightly longer if they are chatting with friends and lose track of time, even longer if they go via the sweet shop .

DS is now very confident at using public transport, the Metro is clean, quick and reliable and he feels safer on it than on buses. There are quite a few pupils who use the Winson Green stop, most travel to/from the Birmingham direction. A few travel to West Bromwich or change at The Hawthorns for the rail link. A small number get off at the stops around Bilston area and one or two go as far as Wolverhampton. He does try to meet up with others in the mornings but they sometimes miss each other as the trams are only about 6 minutes apart.

In the mornings he gets a lift to our nearest Metro stop - I drop him at 7:45am. The journey is 25 mins then a 10 minute walk (or bus as described above). In the afternoons he usually makes the 3:20pm tram to Wolverhampton (St George's) then gets the bus home. He copes well with this, enjoys the social time and even sometimes catches up with a bit of forgotten revision etc, not to be encouraged

Hope this helps those who are considering using the public transport option from this direction - any questions please ask.

Hi
Thanks so much for the detailed info I wasn't even aware of the linked bus service after getting off the tram, that is certainly useful to know. If a place is offered I plan on taking my son on a few weekends on that journey just to give him an idea of what it will be like. Also nice to hear other children from the school are using the service. I did contact the green bus service, they responding back by stating there is not enough demand to service the school from Wolverhampton. Thanks again, much appreciated.

[Faisal2110]

I've also e-mailed the green bus company to add a stop to HGS - our bus would be the number 846. To be honest though, I think we'll be sticking to public buses (11c) because a) it takes the same amount of time and b) my son would be home sooner as he won't have to wait almost an hour for the green bus!

[helen0209]

What would be useful is if the bus still ran when the girl’s had a teacher training day / different term dates. One for others to watch out for - it doesn’t run if the girl’s aren’t in so you have to make your own way there and back

[Eddy70]

My DS commutes from Wolverhampton to HGS mainly on the tram. The journey back home is either DH or myself picking him up in the car or him catching tram back home and picking him up from Wolverhampton. There are more HGS boys than we initially thought catching the metro. We were
Concerned about the distance but DS has got used to the early starts. He really enjoys it at HGS and has settled in well.

[crazycrofter]

My DS commutes from Wolverhampton to HGS mainly on the tram. The journey back home is either DH or myself picking him up in the car or him catching tram back home and picking him up from Wolverhampton. There are more HGS boys than we initially thought catching the metro. We were
Concerned about the distance but DS has got used to the early starts. He really enjoys it at HGS and has settled in well.

Hi Eddy, glad to hear your ds has settled in well after all the worry last year!

[Eddy70]

Thankyou Crazycrofter. It sure was a roller coaster of emotions for us. Thanks to the invaluable advice provided by forumites and moderators on this forum, we feel we made the right decision.

[helen0209]

Thankyou Crazycrofter. It sure was a roller coaster of emotions for us. Thanks to the invaluable advice provided by forumites and moderators on this forum, we feel we made the right decision.

Fantastic to hear