£1280 a year to get my son to school

[Rory]

It turned out that he didn't get his first choice school witch is around 8/9 miles from our home. Instead he got second choice around 9/10 miles from our house. We then found out. Because the school isn't the nearest school in our catchment area we need to pay £1280 a year for the private bus to get him to school.

That seems odd if you applied for, but didn't get, the nearer school.

ETA: My wife just said the same thing happens in our area now although our kids have long since left school. Our village school feeds to a biggger village secondary school 5 miles away - that's the catchment school. But there's a slightly nearer one, not in the catchment, and way over-subscribed so not a hope in hell of our village kids getting in to it. Free transport is based on the nearest school by walking distance, so the kids from our village are all having to pay to go to the traditional catchment school.

 

[Felstmiester]

To ask a silly question, why did you move 10 miles from where you used to live - or did you not know when you moved that you would need that school?

We made the mistake when we bought in Sussex - from working overseas and needing a UK home for our then 4 1/2 year old (who is now approaching 38) to go to school. Picked a small Sussex village with what looked like an excellent CofE primary, did not look at local secondary schools - the primary let us down with both children, and as both were bright and Sussex (to this day) has no selective secondary schools, moving to Sussex was an expensive mistake.

No we've always lived here. It's a village out in the sticks so the schools we get to choose from are in surrounding towns. They are all roughly around the same distance from us. But all over 7 to 10 miles away.

 

[KennyN]

We just sent ours to the local primary / secondary school , the primary was within walking distance and the secondary was two miles away.

We didn't move house closer to get within the catchment area or tell the council we had split up and the kids were staying with their grandparents , as some parents did to get into certain schools.

The difference between a good school and an average one could be something as simple as the head teacher moving on and what do you do then , up sticks and move closer to their new school

Just my 2p`s worth.

Kenny

 

[Felstmiester]

That seems odd if you applied for, but didn't get, the nearer school.

Yes it seemed odd to us to. But at the time it wasn't made clear to us witch one was actually the nearest. We now know that it's measured from point to point as the crow flies. So in fact what you would think is the nearest actually isn't. Our nearest school is a nine mile drive and what we thought was our nearest is under 7. Go figure???

 

[dan-mb]

Think of it like this it's probably cheaper having your house not in the catchment area and paying the travel cost rather than being in the catchment area. In my area houses are worth an extra £20-50K for the postcode/catchment area to get in the school.

 

[Deleted96908]

Both my kids had to travel 16 miles each way to school. The annual cost was around £3.5k. And that didn't include additional car journeys at least once, usually twice a week when they stayed late for sports, drama etc.

Bizarre thing was that kids that lived within 3 miles of school got their transport provided free.

 

[oldguy57]

Yes it seemed odd to us to. But at the time it wasn't made clear to us witch one was actually the nearest. We now know that it's measured from point to point as the crow flies. So in fact what you would think is the nearest actually isn't. Our nearest school is a nine mile drive and what we thought was our nearest is under 7. Go figure???

It is clear that logic and common sense don't really interfere with the thinking of the education/local authorities particularly with regard to the modern problem of actually getting kids to school. Wasn't the same way back when - I walked to school from the age of 6 but the maximum distance was 3 miles not 10. (probably would be reported to social services now!)

 

[markjay]

...I walked to school from the age of 6..... (probably would be reported to social services now!)

Same here...

 

[Rory]

Think of it like this it's probably cheaper having your house not in the catchment area and paying the travel cost rather than being in the catchment area. In my area houses are worth an extra £20-50K for the postcode/catchment area to get in the school.

You're missing the point that it's not to do with catchment area, it's done by distance.

What's happening in our area (West Cheshire) is kids from our village (which has been expanded with significant new housing develpments) going to the catchment senior school are having to pay because there's a nearer (but full-up anyway) non-catchment area school.

For this year and next there's some sort of transitional funding, but it's up in the air what's going to happen after that.

 

[Palfrem]

Remember when the local Council used to run the buses as a "service"

No shortage of early buses (as I recall) to get people to work and school. Plenty of convenient buses on the more obscure routes too.

...now what happened to those (in the name of free enterprise / choice / efficiency ) I wonder?

 

[Peter103]

Like Old Guy and MJ, I walked to school from age 9 to 15, summer and winter, almost 3 miles each way, didn't think twice about it, had no choice, it was shank's pony or nothing, happy days.

 

[renault12ts]

I got the train and bus to school at the beginning and end of each term...every other day I walked.

 

[flat6buster]

I got the train and bus to school at the beginning and end of each term...every other day I walked.

But it isn't far from the dorm is it?

 

[oldguy57]

One of our sons is autistic, and is at a school with special care for his needs, but it was local to where we used to live. It's 10 miles from home now.

My mrs makes that journey 4 times a day.

Rough man maths, if she can average 32mpg, it'll cost us £1125 a year.

We'd happily pay what you're paying if it meant someone else had to do that driving...

Sorry missed your post. If your son has special needs is the LA not responsible for the cost of going to and from school?- or has the system changed? - just a thought no need to reply.

 

[Deleted96908]

But it isn't far from the dorm is it?

I walked the 3 miles to school and instead spent my bus fare on women and song - just like every other red blooded 10 year old in 1969.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I walked the 3 miles to school and instead spent my bus fare on women and song - just like every other red blooded 10 year old in 1969.

I used to keep my dinner money to buy fags, cigarettes that is not the kind of fags that Renault would have had in his school.

The 10 mile each way bus journey was 'free' in as much as it was accounted for in the school fees. If I'm honest I wouldn't expect free transport for school children, I recall paying 'half' fare as a kid but never free.

 

[Deleted96908]

I used to keep my dinner money to buy fags, cigarettes that is not the kind of fags that Renault would have had in his school.

Stop it. My ribs are still hurting from yesterday's pilates!

 

[Tim203]

Like Old Guy and MJ, I walked to school from age 9 to 15, summer and winter, almost 3 miles each way, didn't think twice about it, had no choice, it was shank's pony or nothing, happy days.

You were lucky, I had to get up at 3 am, 10 minutes after I'd been to bed, walk 5 hours along t'motorway, and when we got to school 2 minutes late the headmaster would kick us int boll@x wit steelies.

 

[Jonesy161]

Exactly t'same as you Tim but I got a paper round in too, and bare foot, and bare ****d.

 

[BTB 500]

You were lucky, I had to get up at 3 am, 10 minutes after I'd been to bed, walk 5 hours along t'motorway, and when we got to school 2 minutes late the headmaster would kick us int boll@x wit steelies.

Luxury.