How do people get to Newton Prep? Post Reply

[whirlwind]

Hi

My eldest daughter has a place at Newton Prep starting next year. My husband is keen to move to Balham/Wandsworth Common and of course the best way of getting to Newton Prep from there is the train straight to Battersea Park station. However, I also have a younger child who has only just started to walk. My concern is that (1) even in 6m time, my younger one won't be able to stay out of the buggy long enough to go on a commute all the way to Newton Prep and back twice a day, and to my knowledge there is no step-free access at any of the three stations. (2) what is it like for small children to commute by train? I know it isn't the end of the world, but I worry that it isn't great to be squashed in a packed commuter train at 8am just to get to school! Equally though the area around Newton Prep itself is a disaster for the Tube (which we need to get to work) and so moving somewhere so that they can walk to school isn't much of an option.

How do most people get to Newton Prep? I know the "catchment" is very large so some children travel all the way from Kensington, but the idea of having to drive my kids every day doesn't exactly appeal, especially as the traffic round there is usually horrendous. I have been near the school at around 8.15am and - although this could be coincidence - I saw loads of kids on scooters or walking, and not many seemed to be coming out of the train station.

Thanks

[falconmum]

Balham station has lifts and I see quite a few Newton Prep uniformed kids on trains early morning !
At that time, me or my husband are normally taking the train to drop our 3 year old son to his nursery in Clapham Junction.
He loves his early morning train journey and has finally cottoned on that no one is going to give their seat for him and he is fine with that !
Infact, we are considering NP as one of our "private" options incase the surrounding state schools dont work out .

[balhamwilbur]

We did exactly this commute for years. I did it before Balham had the lift, with a variety of babies/toddlers in tow, so just lugged the buggy up the stairs, v good keep fit! There's no lift option at Battersea Park and those stairs are steep so do a trial run before you decide for sure. It is a squash getting on at Balham, but you need to go right down to the back of the train for the Batt Park exit anyway, and the kids don't seem to mind they just accept that's the way it is. It's a good lesson for them to learn how to behave on public transport as well. Other commuters are pretty understanding as well, as long as kids aren't bouncing off the walls. Loads of people get out at Clapham Junc anyway, so you get a bit more room then. There are lots of NP kids on that train, so it's quite nice. Another advantage is that when the kids reach Y6, they can come home on their own if you and the school feel they are ready, and that's a great safe step to independence. It made the transition to secondary a lot easier, knowing my kids were aware and confident on trains and buses.

So while you have tiny ones in buggies, it is a bit of a pain, but that phase goes v quickly and then it's a really good and easy way to get to school.

[Sue2411]

Hi, I know many kids traveling by train and as soon as the children are big enough to stand on the scooter, parents move them to small micro scooters and pull them to roll along with them on the way. The only challenge is going down the stairs in Battersea and carrying the scooters and the toddlers while holding the hand of the older sibling, but I think it's worth the challenge as I really like the school. What can I say, time passes quickly and things get easier. Good luck..