How far is too far when it comes to choosing a good school

[middlesexdad]

Hi,

Looking for advise and others view point......I am contemplating having my daughter sit the 11+ exams for grammer schools that are approx 10miles & 15 Miles away from where I live, the actual travel time is thought to be 1 hour each way, is this too far for a daily journey for a child?

and does this impact their quality time to study once they start progressing into their GCSE?

MD

[scary mum]

I've sent you a pm. To me it is more of a social life/after school activities question than whether they have time to do their work. Remember as they get older they will be staying up later anyway.

[Fran17]

I have one son travelling to school 11 miles in one direction involving two trains and a 15 minute walk and the other two 13 miles in the opposite direction on a school bus. They all cope very well with their days. All three view the travelling part of their day as an extension of their social life and all of them have actually made new friends in this way.

Scary mum is absolutely right pointing out that they do start to go to bed later, leaving more time in the evenings for homework and activities. Do remember that they soon change from the fresh faced little year 7s into young men and women, and it all seems to happen very quickly.

All children are different but luckily mine have all adjusted to a long day and love their schools. Mine aren't the exception, lots of children seem to manage in the same way. If you think the schools you are considering are worth a bit of a journey, go for it I'd say. Good luck with your future choices.

[Guest55]

In Bucks journeys of at least half an hour are common owing to the rural nature of parts of the county.

Just check how easy the journey is rather than its length.

Many clubs run at lunchtime so children do not need to miss out on activities - if they are sporty then matches might be more of an issue.

[mum23*]

I agree with Guest55 it is probably about ease rather than length of journey. Is there a bus and where is the stop? Can your DD get to and from the stop easily at either end? Think of dark afternoons, bad weather etc Will your DD have a friend to travel with? The other option is to lift share if that is possible but you still need to factor in times when this might not be possible...illness, change of routine, school clubs etc Some schools offer bus/minibus services so contact the school and find out what your options are. 10 or more miles to travel is fairly common here but it does mean that friends can be quite far away so that might be a factor. As for the actual question, I think an hour's travel time door to door should be the limit to how far is too far. After that then think again or consider a move. This has come up before and can be quite a hot potato but I stand by my hourish limit. It is long enough with school, homework and a couple of hobbies thrown in.

[Snowdrops]

I second all the above comments.

My dd's school is 12 miles away. She finishes school at ten to four, walks the mile or so to the bus station and catches the bus at 4.20 pm. She's then home for 4.45 pm - the bus literally stops outside our front door.

Her friends live far and wide across our county, but it doesn't stop them from meeting up. As long as you're willing to be a taxi now and then it shouldn't be a problem.

Be prepared for your dd to be tired in the first term or so - ALL children feel tired during the fist term or so, it's them naturally adjusting to longer days/more study etc.

[pheasantchick]

We made a decision to send our ds slightly further away to a super selective compared to the nearer 'ordinary. grammar school. We made the decision that the better prospects and education outweighs the disadvantages of a longer day.

Ask me in a year whether we made the right decision!

[pheasantchick]

Forgot to add, the distance is about 12 miles.

[Daogroupie]

I think if you are prepared to invest the time into making sure she is able to be part of everything she wants to and to not let the distance get in the way it is fine. We have gone from being in the next street to the school in primary school to being a good half hour away but we make sure that we get involved in lots of things and dont let the distance rule us. There is a girl in my dd's class who says no to everything outside of school, parties, netball matches etc because she lives in Islington. We always ask her but we know the answer will always be no and I think it is a real shame as she misses out on so much. People have started to exclude her automatically. Will dd have anyone else to travel with? Is she interested in drama, sport and music, are there lots of things she will want to do at after school clubs? Do most students at the school live much closer? Will she be in a minority? Has the school got a map showing where students come from? DG

[pheasantchick]

Good advice DAOGroupie.

I was concerned about our ds being the only pupil from this area to the school (my first ever EPE post was to do with this!), but have since found lots of people in the surrounding area.