Distances travelled to Grammar

[muminTewkes]

Noooooooo Sabanna-no one thinks any of the above

[Newshoes]

Not aimed at anyone specifically just trying to outline the concerns that I personally would have and issues girl from Swindon currently having.

Capers - macho & sporty??? Is this not a clue?

[fruit salad]

Capers - macho & sporty??? Is this not a clue?

But don't they do rugger at HSFG?

[capers123]

Capers - macho & sporty??? Is this not a clue?

[/quote]

Being a musician, I mixed, even as a child, with many people of different outlooks. In my small ensemble was a boy from the boys grammar who was very gay (of an effeminate style), and a girl, from the girls one, who was very butch & macho. This was when they were in Y7 / Y8. I'm still in very regular contact with both, and they are still as comfortable with their sexuality as they were then...

Getting a little off topic here!

[gloucestermum]

Topic has now been split-discussion on scores etc that will be useful for next year please post on the original thread.

Thanks

[fruit salad]

For us, it was/is not the length of the journey as much as whether they can make the journey independently on a normal school day.

A 10 minute walk + 30 minute bus journey is preferable to a 10 minute car trip a parent has to make to drop DC off at the bus stop followed by the bus journey.


Either of these is preferable to having to be driven to school every day by a parent.

But it does depend very much on the child and their own circumstances, and I can imagine some family situations where having one child living in one county with one parent, and another in another county with another parent might be preferable to boarding for some. (Although that isn't a suggestion - not trying to give anyone ideas!)

Friendship groups and meeting up with school friends outside of school time is also an important consideration. This is where it doesn't matter how close to the school you live, some of their friends are likely to be living a few miles away (and could be a few miles the other side of school to you) and it will take a bit of parental taxi driving or sleepover organising for them to get together now and again. If you live outside of the county, you might find that a lot of parents just can't get their children to your sleepover or birthday party because of other trips they must make that day.

[Amber]

Either of these is preferable to having to be driven to school every day by a parent.

Why?

If the parent works round the corner, and it is no effort to drop off DC, why is it by definition preferable for the DC to make the journey independently? My older 2 go to school with their Dad every day as he literally works over the road. They leave at 8 and listen to their choice, or his, of dreadful music in the car. For us, that was one of the positives - that they are not forced to be sociable with others from 7.15 every day and being in the car with him is just an extension of being at home. I am not sure it is possible to generalise to this extent. I took 2 buses to school every day for 7 years and was so, so glad on the odd occasion when someone gave me a lift.

[mad?]

Either of these is preferable to having to be driven to school every day by a parent.

Why?

Congestion, gridlock, consideratoin for local residents, the environment, independence, fitness, and where we are fist fights over parking spaces, kids getting knocked over by 'drive byers' and a general staggering disrespect for other members of the community. (well a bit but as we live near the school not very much!)
Seriously, the thing here is 'having to', if a parent driving is the only way fo getting to/from school then that is a life sentence (for all concerned!).
I do think there are two arguments giong on on this thread. Personally I don't likethe idea of imposing excessive travel times/difficulties on DC, and we turned our 'local' (6 miles but about 2.5-3 hours travel a day) down on this basis. However, 'local schools for local kids' can mean all things to all people, depending on their own situation, in my view the logical conclusion for those who support this philosophy would be uniform education provision, ie: no more grammar schools. Not so sure people would be so concerned about county boundaries if they felt that as where it was going.

[fruit salad]

Either of these is preferable to having to be driven to school every day by a parent.

Why?

If the parent works round the corner, and it is no effort to drop off DC, why is it by definition preferable for the DC to make the journey independently? My older 2 go to school with their Dad every day as he literally works over the road. They leave at 8 and listen to their choice, or his, of dreadful music in the car. For us, that was one of the positives - that they are not forced to be sociable with others from 7.15 every day and being in the car with him is just an extension of being at home. I am not sure it is possible to generalise to this extent. I took 2 buses to school every day for 7 years and was so, so glad on the odd occasion when someone gave me a lift.

Yes, agree with above, and glad that you brought this up. Had not considered parents working near the school!

Sorry, I didn't make it clear, I was still answering as 'for us' at this point and therefore the parent concerned would be me, making a round trip twice a day with no other real reason for the journey. I do this already for primary school, though only a mile or so, and for all the reasons 'mad?' has given it is not ideal. Not least because I've had problems with my car on occasion and so have had to fall back on buses (very time consuming). I just prefer to be the backup to the buses, not the other way around!

As I said earlier, it all depends on the circumstances of each family.

[moved]

A friend, originally from Bristol, now living in Swindon has sent her son to Pates as her husband works in a doughnut in Cheltenham and the two travel together. Both enjoy the time shared in the car.

Fundamentally, we all make choices according to our circumstances.