Travel to School

[Eccentric]

Everyone in Bucks [or catchment areas just outside the actual border] agrees - how many threads do we see each year like this one?!

So many and so sad for the children. I can understand parents wanting the best for their child educationally but mental health is more important. teenage years are an anxious time without additional stress. I think people forget that it is not just the bus journey but also the homework that needs to be done in the evenings. If a child doesn't get back from school until 6:00 which realistically would be the case with a one and a half hour journey, then that child will have time for supper, their 2 hours of homework and then straight to bed without any relaxation or wind down time. Children get very tired when they start secondary school anyway. It is stressful enough in itself without adding ridiculous journeys.
It will be very difficult for a child that has to travel that far to participate in out of school activities and they won't have any friends locally so no one to revise with.
Any a working parent should also be aware that public buses are not at all reliable neither is children time keeping and they will need to be ready to step in should the bus not turn up, break down or goes early and is missed.
Perhaps schools could add a humane travel time into their admissions policy as well as a distance?

[scary mum]

OP, as you will have seen folks on here (me included) are against long journey times for children. I think the public transport option is a no-go - it is too long, complex & risky (in terms of reliability). Driving would probably take about 45 minutes in the morning as you would be going against most of the traffic, although it would depend what you have to get through on the way to the M40. I regularly do more or less the opposite journey, so you could reckon on 1-2 hours to get home once you had dropped her, so you are looking at a minimum of a two hour round trip in the morning, and similar in the evening for 7 years. The school may be able to tell you if there are other parents who arrange a minibus or anything, but be aware that the school may not be sympathetic if traffic problems mean your DD is late on a regular basis.

[munisha]

Baba, if you are able to drive your daughter to South Ruislip station, there is a direct 20 min train that goes to Beaconsfield Rail Station. From there I think it's about a 10 min walk to the school. Alternatively bus 114 travels from Harrow to South Ruislip. Hope that helps.

[Guest55]

The station is further from the school than that - with narrow pavements in places.

[scary mum]

20 minutes according to Google maps.

[munisha]

I've completed the walk - it took about 15 mins. However I was advised that there is a shortcut that the children use which is only available during school run time.

[Guest55]

I've done it too ... hence my comment about the pavements - not pleasant in winter.

This is on top of the train journeys - the OP shoud really consider moving.

[Eccentric]

This is always such an emotive subject. I looked on the .gov travel recommendations and they say that journeys up to 75 minutes are acceptable for secondary school children, which I am sure is the case if the journey is one bus door to door with their school mates, but if this involves changes etc. as well and a child doing the journey on their own it is too much and would be likely to cause a lot of stress which could lead to mental health problems.

[PurpleDuck]

I assume the 75 mins 'door-to-door' includes walking to the bus stop and then from the bus stop to school.

The government also suggests it's ok for children over 8 to walk up to 3 miles to school (and up to 2 miles for younger children - anyone prepared to do that with a reception-age child?). Walking is good, but have the government officials ever tried to lift an average school bag of a secondary school child? And add a sports bag to it twice a week, and possibly a cricket bag in summer term?

Statutory walking distances
The statutory walking distances are 2 miles for children aged under 8, and 3 miles for children aged 8. The measurement of the statutory walking distances is not necessarily the shortest distance by road. It is measured by the shortest route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, may walk with reasonable safety. As such, the route measured may include footpaths, bridleways, and other pathways, as well as recognised roads.

[Y]

Whilst I wouldn't recommend anyone travelling long distances, the walk from the train station to BHS is perfectly doable. I'm not sure I'd describe any of the pavements as especially narrow, and there are now crossings to help with some of the side roads, which are the dangerous part for a younger secondary child. I did this journey throughout my secondary education, (and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not the hardiest of individuals) and in the latter years, I did it in high heels... (Can't walk in them nowadays!) The short cut mentioned is through Butlers Court School, accessed via the alleyway in Grove Road. This was not an option in my day, and we always walked round the long way. Cutting up Grove Road makes for a more pleasant walk, which is what we used to do in the mornings; it's more direct along Station Road, which is what we used to do in the evenings. You need to allow 20 minutes from leaving school in the evenings (if I remember correctly) to be able to catch a train home.

But put this together with the rest of the journey, and you have a recipe for misery.