11 Plus Exams Forum

Hello all,

Please can you help. My DS has been offered a place at BV. I am a bit anxious about the travel from Bromsgrove to Sutton Coldfield so it would be nice know if there are other children he could potentially "buddy up" with.

The routes could be as follows: Bromsgrove to University to Sutton Coldfield or Barnt Green to Sutton Coldfield, or Longbridge to Sutton Coldfield.

Thanks for reading

what's the length of the journey; maybe you should do the journey with your child one weekday to find out if its OK. Try it and see for yourself and then decide don't go on anyone else's opinion but yours and your child. Good luck

Timings are around 50min on train, 5min to Bromsgrove Station and 5min walk from Sutton Coldfield I think.

Thanks for those wise words. I will be taking some time off next week to visit BV with my DS and try out the train run and take from there.

I know lots get on at Selly oak and university so there would be company from there. I've also heard on this forum that the school will buddy up with an older boy if you ask.

Have you thought what you'd do when the cross city line isn't running which does happen on a semi regular basis? We're live near the university and even for us its a real lengthy trek in rush hour. We have friends who live in Sutton backup in case ds gets stranded there. Might be worth trying it by car too as you'll have parents evenings etc if nothing else. As I might sound like I'm trying to put you off I should tell you that we are on the BV waiting list

Thanks for that, I will ask the school if they can help with buddying up. I used to work at Good Hope Hospital so very aware of the long treks by car and the long journey.

I have no idea how I'd get DS to BV if trains broke down as my DD goes to Alcester Grammar which is in totally opposite direction and hubby and I take her there. I need to find some friends in Sutton Coldfield very quickly!

As you can probably appreciate we are in a dilemma and our DS is desperate to go!

All the best with BV waiting list. We really didn't expect to be offered a place so good luck!

Golly, this seems a very long journey. We live Alcester so I guess we don't have the train option like you, but into town and out again is quite a journey. I am sure you will sort it, and get buddies of course, but in the meantime is there no persuading DC to another school? My dh works at Good Hope Hosp sometimes and its 45 mins by car.

To be fair, dh gets that line from Bournville station and I am not aware of trains stopping/line being closed recently.
It is an incredibly busy line with trains coming every 10 minutes at peak times so I cannot see it just stopping for long.
He also sees quite a few BV boys getting on at Bournville and our friend's son in Y8 gets on too so I think your son would have plenty of company.

As for the commute, it sounds better than many commutes that I know children make to GS, because it is a straight line journey with no changes, which is a huge advantage and means no standing around in snow/rain/hail etc for the connecting bus as many others do. The train also provides a nice opportunity to get homework done . If I had to choose between a bus or train commute for myself or my children, I would definitely choose the train.
The walk at both ends is minimal - I know that at the BV end, the school is practically opposite the train station.
The other advantage is that, getting on at Bromsgrove he'll probably get a seat which those who get on from Northfield onwards may not always get

Thanks Um, it's reassuring to know that the train is frequent enough and will be occupied by lots of other BV students. I assume the change at University is on the same platform for the onward travel to Sutton Coldfield?

Does anyone happen to know if there are any "safe places" in Sutton Coldfield for DS to wait in case of emergencies when trains don't run?

There is a police station opposite bishop vesey in an emergency. although I'm sure the school would still be physically open for a few hours afterwards

Public library?(Although not on Thursdays, apparently). Somewhere like Costa where they don't usually mind one sitting in a corner drinking one coffee / hot chocolate very very slowly? Free WiFi, too .