HSFG or Stroud. travel issues from Bristol

[steppemum]

Most children have strongly held opinions, which is not the same as having well informed ones.

very nicely put!

Because we live in Swindon, we do see a lot of GS kids who travel a long way. The Pates bus leaves at 7, and gets home at 5:30.
My kids go on the train (7:50 depart) but there is a bus too, and that is nearly as early as the Pates bus.
As a teen I travelled for school, my bus was 7:30, and arrived at school at 8:30. There was no way I was going to make my kids do any longer than that, that is already more than I would like.
As an adult I would never chose to do a comute longer than and hour, and I would try and make it more like 30 minutes max.

[stroudydad]

I think with regard to chosing a school, that as parents we should always make it very clear that WE have made the decision.
Of course, part of that process is listening to our child and taking their view into consideration, but I think it is not appropriate for us as parents to let the child choose. Even if the child's opinion is in the end the deciding factor for us, we need to say to the child that we have made the decision.

I feel very strongly about this for 2 reasons.
1. should there be problems, or it doesn't work out, or the child is bullied, or unhappy etc, the fatc that they chose this school can be a burden on them, and it can be hard to admit they got it wrong.
2. No 10 year old understands what GCSEs mean and how different education options can affect you. Most 10 year olds are driven in their choice by the fun stuff they did on open evening. While that may be an exageration, it is certainly true that they have no comprehension of the whole picture, and hopefully we do. I remember 2 conversations with ds. The first was that he did not want to go to Marling, as his impression was based on the school hall where we heard the head's talk, it is in the old part of the building, and was, according to ds 'old fashioned like some ancient church' and he wasn't prepared to go to school there. Dh took him to a later open morning, where he was under strict instructions to keep away from the hall and find the science and IT block. Ds ended up having a go on a beautiful drum kit and an amazing conversation with one of the teachers, and came back with a totally different impression.
The other conversation was around why we wanted him to go there and not to the local comp with all his friends. I explained that I wanted him to be able to have as many choices as possible for as long as possible so that he could do whatever he wanted to do, whether it was a drummer in a rock band or a brain surgeon (the first is more likely!). He got that, but couldn't understand why this school would offer him those chances more than the local sink comp. (and ours really is a bad school)

So I think on balance you need to make this decision.

I also think that, for example, if you planned to move at some point int he next year, it wouldn't be so bad doing the journey for a limited time. But 7 years is a long time to travel for 3 hours every day.

Perfect.

[dr.watson]

I think the parents should consider moving closer to the school. Kids should not be travelling this long for school. I don't know the personal situation of the family so cannot comment any further.

I have moved into the area from Bristol. I have DS1 who goes to Pates and DS2 who has appeared the exams this year. I would prefer the closest Grammar school for my kids.

There are many parents whose children commute from Bristol Parkway to Pates.

Cheers,
Dr. Watson

[capers123]

I'm agnostic on other people sending their child to a Glos grammar from 'out of area', although wouldn't have put my two through a long commute.

However, I would support the suggestions of moving closer to Stroud. Somewhere aroud Cam & Dursley would give parents the choice of easy train or M5 to Bristol whilst giving a school bus to SHS/Marling. You'll probably also find property prices much more reasonable than in Bristol.

[Cool kitty]

Hello everyone,

I am very new to this forum .

My daughters joined SHS this year. And we are commuting daily
from Bristol. It’s two weeks now since they started.

Any advice and help would be great .

Many thanks,

[steppemum]

Hi Cool Kitty, welcome to the forum!
SHS is a lovely school.
I won't repeat what is already on this thread, but it is a good summary of the advice around travel and commuting, especially from Bristol.

How are you doing it at the moment? Car? Bus?

[Birdbridge]

Most 10 year olds are driven in their choice by the fun stuff they did on open evening.

So true! My dd says she wants to go to Pates - because of the rock climbing wall!!!!

[ToadMum]

Hello everyone,

I am very new to this forum .

My daughters joined SHS this year. And we are commuting daily
from Bristol. It’s two weeks now since they started.

Any advice and help would be great .

Many thanks,

Painswick is lovely and only a short bus journey to Stroud .

Houses are rather expensive, though.

[Cool kitty]

@Steppemum I travel by car leave home at 6.45 and staying in stroud until 3.30 pm . Driving up and down morning and evening to and fro is quite tiring . I would like to do utilise my time in a good way . Hopefully soon . & Toad Mum Thankyou

[Amber]

@Steppemum I travel by car leave home at 6.45 and staying in stroud until 3.30 pm . Driving up and down morning and evening to and fro is quite tiring . I would like to do utilise my time in a good way . Hopefully soon . & Toad Mum Thankyou

So are you asking for advice on what to do in Stroud for 6 hours every day, or advice on moving closer, or advice on travel which doesn't mean you have to do this presumably unsustainable amount of travelling for the next 7 years?