My DS has a place at DGGS, we love it but we live very far away (nr Beckenham). I'm worried the long coach journey would be too much of a strain. This might prevent her from doing clubs and taking full advantage of the brilliant extra curricular activities. She loves swimming but I'm worried she won't get to join the clubs if they are after school.

We also have been offered a place at chis and sids. This is closer and she could get a bus. It also has sibling entry and we have 3 more kids to get through this system so that's appealing!

Any advice on either school, or the journey much appreciated. We don't know what to do!

Bear in mind the earlier start time for Chis & Sid and that the buses there are often very crowded. A friend's DS attends and he got detention in his first week as he repeatedly couldn't get on the buses and now gets two trains rather than the buses as he tried getting earlier buses but they were still taking ages and crowded and made for a very long day. I am not certain that it will be the same for your route but don't just rely on a bus route and a bus at a convenient time on the timetable to think that will be a better journey. As a boy he is enjoying the school and the co-ed vibe works well for him. A friend who has a girl there isn't so settled but that might just be her slightly quieter character.

DGGS does seem to be more academic, a friend who has a daughter there gets about twice as much homework as DD (at Newstead, same year group). There is more pressure but the girls seem to generally be happy. Could it be possible for your DD to get the train on those days, it looks like a simple change at Lewisham if New Beckenham is convenient for you at all?

Think also about the curriculum and what made you put one school higher up your CAF.

Thank you so much for this detailed reply - really useful. We had not considered train and you're right the coach would be an easier/ calmer journey. The traffic for Chis and Sids was terrible when we went for open day! Thank you!

I wouldn't base any decisions on the traffic at Chis & Sid on the open day, it is always carnage with hundreds of families visiting, but not necessarily representative of how busy it is usually.

If you're near Beckenham, have you looked into train journeys to both schools? If you're near a station on the Hayes Line, DD can get a train to Lewisham and then back out from there to Sidcup or Dartford. Less likely to be impacted by traffic and you can leave the buses for days when there are issues with trains. For Chis & Sid, there are loads of children catching the train from Hither Green, Lee & Mottingham and the school is only 5 minutes from the station.

I also wouldn't underestimate the benefit of a closer school in terms of friends nearby and shorter journey times, although having said that, I'm not really aware of many children at all coming from as far as Beckenham for Chis & Sid, let alone Dartford, so I guess she won't have local friends whichever school you choose unless you're at the Catford end of Beckenham, where you'll be close-ish to kids coming from Hither Green, Grove Park and Lee Green.

Thank you. We’re the Bromley end so no- I imagine she won’t have local friends. (We know one older girl near us that goes to DGGS) We didn’t get into any of our local schools. The train isn’t doable from us for C&S but it is for Dartford. So I guess when she was older and might not want to get the coach. This might work- thank you!