11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi
Our son is off to AGS in September and we received an email today from the school which was really exciting. One of the items in the email was to remind us to apply for school transport, so I duly went onto the WCC website to begin the application process.

However, the WCC website states the following:

"We are currently unable to accept any further applications for paid transport due to the upcoming change in accessibility regulations.
We will provide an update as soon as we have any further information. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Does anyone know anything about this? I have emailed the education transport team for advice but wondered if anyone here knew anything?

Loads of kids in our village get the bus to AGS using paid for bus passes (well before COVID!); there is plenty of space on the bus and I wasn't aware of any problems with transport?

We will be absolutely shafted if we can't get him a bus pass.... no idea how else to get him to school!

I believe some of the bus companies didn’t realise that all their buses had to be fully disabled access so has limited the number of buses available, I think.

You do need to be aware however that simply having a bus pass does not guarantee the route. The route/bus times changed every single year that we had a bus pass - thankfully we were on a kind of main hub so there was always a bus my boys could access but some routes get cancelled or changed every year.

Hi there,

WCC will no longer be providing transport to grammar schools in the region for many villages, ours included - Lapworth. My son will be starting Yr11 at AGS and we received an email earlier this year, informing us of this fact. I have a DD who will be starting SGGS in September, so I checked and sure enough, the bus she would have used - also the one used by KES pupils, is also not running.

Many of the routes (there are changes though) are now being provided by The Green bus company, and you have to reserve and arrange payment (set up a Direct Debit) for a pass asap. I have included a link to the website below.

https://www.thegreenbus.co.uk/bus_servi ... 503/20-21/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope this information is of some help to you, and your village is covered by this company.

I found the bus for 2020-2021 to AGS for my child by looking at the current bus routes on the WCC website. At the bottom of the 2019-2020 timetable, it listed the new provider and I paid for a bus pass on the bus company’s website. Several bus companies are being used.

Warwickshire council run buses are never open for applications before a set date (iirc late May or June) and children already using that service get priority over new applications. We usually get a letter telling us applications are open, I haven’t had that yet so it might be that you’re just too early. I will post on here when I get notified that applications are open so you can check if the bus you want is running.

So, things seem to have changed.
DD bus to RHS will no longer be running in September.
DS bus which goes to 4 schools will no longer accept paid customers, free pass holders only. Having spoken to another parent it appears that all buses now have to be able to accommodate disabled passengers so the council instead are stopping services. We have been told in both instances to check the stagecoach website. I can’t find any information on the stagecoach website yet, hopefully there will be some soon so we can start planning.

The green bus has taken over many routes for September. You can apply online at any time for a pass and can either pay on full or set up a ddm.

Usually the earlier you buy your pass the cheaper it is. However, due to the current situation, they have frozen the current price to passes bought up until 30th June. After then they will increase in price.

We received an email from the director of the green bus yesterday. They are taking the situation very seriously and will be putting a number of safety procedures in place. They have been working with a university virologist to develop a comprehensive package of safety measures.

They have said that provided the level of the virus in the community continues to fall, they are confident their full range of services will be able to return to normal in september.

Applications for paid bus transport for Warks schools is now open.

Ridley coaches told me there is a new bus service from leamington to KES and Alcester its the 526 bus that will operate in September 20-21. This bus will also go to Shottery and Alcester from Leamington Spa.