Teenagers being driven to and from school

It’s a different world today. In a world where we read regularly of stabbings in London of mainly young men and boys and the murders of women such as Sarah Everard, the Smallman sisters and Ashling Murphy, who wants to risk that for their own child?

In Scotland parents do have a choice of schools, both primary and secondary. My children were able to walk to primary school and had bus passes for secondary school.

Of course, free bus passes are only of any use if you have public transport on which use them.

Bog all chance of any help to get to school here, even in the most dire circumstances.

Whoa whoa, the murders of young women in London are usually after dark and not on London transport. Sarah Everard was around 9.30 pm I believe and the Smallman sisters were in the early hours of the morning.
A child in London is highly unlikely to be on the tube or bus after 5 pm anyway, because most of them try to avoid the sardine can rush hour. Added to that they rarely travel alone, more likely in groups of 4 or 6. Then at the weekend they travel to Oxford Street, a museum or art gallery or Stamford Bridge or West Ham for football. It becomes part of their lives to learn their way around and become streetwise, both on school days and for leisure.

Sallywally1

My son, now an adult (32) had to get a bus into the local town and then had a ten minute walk from the bus stop to the school. He and his friends witnessed several muggings, one boy was beaten up badly. I was always terrified of all the kids carrying knives and it is much worse now. We live in London.

That’s why so many are driven. Parents are scared for their safety.

This doesn't just apply to London and is the reason a lot of children are driven to school. In some rural areas, all the children are picked up by one bus. Whoo, betide you if you have passed for the local selective Grammar school and last on the bus. I have heard quite a lot of reports from friends about their grandchildren and their treatment by others who they thought were friends.

Hithere

The world now is very different from the one we grew up decades ago

Throwing judgements on what parents do now vs what you did then is comparing apples and oranges

Yes I agree and for that reason I can totally understand why young children are no longer allowed to walk to and from school on their own.

But teenagers who live 15 to 20 minutes walk from their school, or on a direct bus or train route? Surely, unless their are specific circumstances such as bullying , they should be able to navigate their own way to and from their school.

All my grandchildren generally walk to school unless it’s pouring down. My children walked to school as well. I had to travel to senior school by rail and bus on my own.

IMO, it’s important they learn basic life skills as early as it’s safe to do so. Additionally, discouraging the use of private transport at this time of global warming, it’s essential. I use our old car as little as possible as well, leading by example.

The major difficulty faced by some children is that their school may be very difficult to reach by public transport so leaving little choice but to drive them.

Most parents are dropping their children on the way to work, so a journey that would be made anyway.

I just worry how all these cossetted children will manage once they get to university.

So many don't, M0nica and then struggle.

Many more mothers now work, so dropping them off on the way (I’m talking primary age here) makes sense - many just wouldn’t have time to walk them and be on time for work.

As for going home for lunch, that’s something else that must happen a lot less with both parents working.

I used to have a long walk to the bus stop to go to school, with my elder sister on the way, but on my own on the way back - from age 6.
I once missed my usual bus - dawdling - and didn’t realise that there’d be another if I waited. So I walked - dawdling again and stopping to look in the pet shop I’d seen so often from the bus.

My poor mother was frantic! I was probably at least an hour and a half late.

That's true Galaxy but I would also like to mention that some of the parents are heading for the gym or the local coffee shop. (The gym wear is the giveaway!)

I once decided that the best place to skive school was the bus stop directly opposite my dads shop. Not sure using a bus made me very street smart ?‍♀️

Witzend I think as a child we lose all the conception of time. Poor parents when the child is late home, horrible feeling

I think bunking off school would be an interesting thread!

Galaxy

Most parents are dropping their children on the way to work, so a journey that would be made anyway.

But this was parents collecting children from school at 3.30 - 4.00.

I queried this recently with my own DGC (and their parents) They walked to primary school but now in
High School they have a bit further so mum drives them. They both carry musical instruments to and fro but even so, surely they don't need a lift!

My DC had to walk to school although they occasionally got lifts.

I have been reading my cousin's obituary. She died aged 91 and was brought up on a farm. No buses in those days so she and her brother walked the 5 mile round trip to school.
My walk wasn't as long but at least a mile each way.

My other DGC live in a fairly remote part of Scotland. The older one gets the school bus each day but the wee one has to be 5 before they'll take her so DD drives her to pre-school 3 days a week. 25mile round trip twice a day and then on to swimming and ballet classes.

I dropped my children off at school on my way to work- but we lived 4 miles from the school.

I’ve a primary child. We walk. But when she gets to secondary she won’t be able to as there are no suitable roads to walk along. There is a school bus. It will cost £70 a month. Or I could drive her for a fraction of the cost.

Jaxjacky

Not to mention parking in local roads, with some blocking driveways, a bugbear locally.

We have a school round the corner and I’ve had to ask several drivers to move back from my driveway - they think nothing of blocking it. I’ve also had to ring 101 regarding a school run parent who insisted on pulling up outside my house and sitting with the engine running whilst waiting for her DC - sometimes for 10-15 minutes. She did this several times and I was getting fed up with the noise and smell from the exhaust so I went out and asked her could she please turn off the engine. I was met with abusive language so when she turned up the following day I rang 101 and a PCSO patrolled the roads for a few days at school run times. Never saw her again.

Josieann

I think bunking off school would be an interesting thread!

I dropped one of my DC off at school on my way to work. I'm not saying she would have bunked off but it was to make sure she got there on time, especially at exam time!

She's a teacher now ???

I’ve noticed this in the last ten years or so, both primary and secondary. I get the primary aged ones are probably being dropped off en route to work but the 11+ age group? In my town the local secondary school is incredibly oversubscribed so mainly local. And looking at the catchment area probably maximum of 1 and a half miles as the next nearest secondary is less than 2 miles away.
It is 100 metres from the beach with ample parking in seafront car parks. However, the sheer number of cars trying to park/double park as near to the gates as possible is ridiculous. If they could manage to walk to the beach carpark it would make much less congestion in residential roads.
Mine went there in the 90’s and 00’s and walked the half mile as did all of their peers. Lugging guitars, cricket bags and books. The only time I drove to school was to meet them at the end of schooldelivering cricket gear that had been forgotten as too heavy for me to carry!
There are children from the same road who are now driven and picked up every day. Same with the roads around the next local school.

I taught teenagers at college - who were still half asleep in the mornings - as they'd been driven to the door. Of course, some were really fidgety and unable to concentrate too, having had no fresh air or exercise.

Here school bus/ train passes are free and can be used on the trains where I live to go to into Paris at the weekend. However, some parents do drop children off on the way to work but children start school at 8h/8h30 and finish at 4h30 for nursery and primary and for some up to 6 pm in the evening in secondary. Before the pandemic, the local schools had pedibuses, starting from different points of the town, run by parents.

Paper monster, I get that completely, of course there are reasons for driving to school, just not in my local one though!

We lived in a remote cottage in Cornwall so both Children travelled on the school bus. My oldest grandson has a bus pass for school but, because he is autistic, one of us collects him from school if he stays on for any activities that would mean missing his usual bus. His brother walks to primary school except when he has to take his double bass in, that does require the car!

It might be easier for many parents to drop their children off on the way to work. If I collect my grandchild from school, we get the bus back to my home as I don't drive, they love getting the bus.