I think the title of this post is misleading. I imagine the original poster would have been offered a nearer school had they used all of their choices rather than just putting down 3 schools. I know for example alderbrook and high view had large distances. Would you not be able to get into these through the waiting list and avoid the journey? It feels the post is really about not getting into the 3 schools you think are acceptable rather than the fact you were offered one a long way away.

I guess some of us are not that priveleged to have a nanny but to be honest i enjoy the school run, spending time looking around, fresh air, exercise, exploring, i would not trade places with a nanny even if i had the option to. But i do know that if i paid a nanny to care for my kids then she is being paid for her service and if that includes a school run then so be it, 45mins is nothing when it comes to my kids, as the other mum said ( she is a creative mum) i would have to hire a creative nanny who loves exercise and walking and fun things, not someone who wants to walk 5 mins down the road or drive . like i said i do stewarts rd to northcote every day and its not even 17mins on the 87 or 77 bus , 10 to 15 mins, me and my 9year old can walk it in 25mins ,
Theres always goin to be excuses,
its to far.
i dont drive
buses take to long
i get stressed with the crowds
i be late for work
my child cant walk far

And i am not relating to stewarts rd/northcote now, ppl nowadays dont even want to walk 10/15 mins down the road
I believe its the adults who make the children lazy, ppl blame computers and consoles, i beg to differ.

One can always find a good reason when one doesnt want to do it!

Well, I have to leave my house at 8am to be at my desk at 9am. Not so sure my nanny would be that creative on buses...

Whats your point?

Totally do able with a toddler. I suspect it is the zdult who doesnt want to do it. Plus you can make fun for a toddler. Up to you. But my children have a fun creative mum (or so i try very hard at least ) who tries to make boring/necessary stuffs fun.

Honeywell Rd
London SW11 6ED, UK, walk to Clapham Junction
Av journey time: 20 mins

Clapham Junction Bus 87 from Stop: D towards Aldwych
Buses every: 6 mins
journey time: 17 mins

Union Road / Wandsworth Road Stop: M
Walk to Stewart's Rd, Stewart's Rd, London SW8, UK, Nine Elms (London)
Av journey time: 9 mins

Journey time: 00:46 - and this is without a toddler...

But yo be completely honest, the person whi usually moans in the evening about the commute is me not them.

I am always puzzled when i read/hear my children cant walk, it is duch a big walk fir children etc. It is the same mums are our schools who do not walk but would go to the gym every single mornings (unless they just pretend and get dressed like that!)

Children CAN walk, it us what they are used

My children nursery school is 2.1 miles from.

It should take 5 min in the car but given the traffic is takes more AND i start the day stressed out as the traffic is really horrenfous (esp. With these lorry drivers that dont know how to drive and cant see you...)

We take the bus: they scoot to the bus stop and scoot to school from bus stop. They love it! We pass a police station and a fire station. We play "i spy", they read their book "like big people". It takes 1/2hr incuding waiting for the bus. Buses have bus lanes.

They have exercise before and after school thanks to that. When it rains they have all the gears with waterproofs etc.

Their "big" dchool will be a mile. My eldest will cycle and i ll have my youngest on my bike. Sometimes they ll walk or scoot.

Children CAN walk, scoot, cycle up to a mile, children CAN commute by bus. It IS good for everybody parents/carers and children alike.

No body would expect a toddler to walk from northcote to stewarts road, but like i said its not impossible to travel out of the catchment area, i take a bus 5 times a week from the school to northcote road for work and have never been late, it takes 10 to 15 mins on a bus, yes there can be delays (like with the helicopter crash a while back) but thats life, my son has never been late for school, and yes i have 4 kids so i have known what its like to travel on a bus with 2 toddlers, heavily pregnant and a buggy and shopping, You will also find that the majority of delays you would come across on a school run would be from parents who choose to drive their kids to school when its a mere walk down the road.

Looking at where Stewarts Road is , it's a ridiculous walk to expect a four year old to do from Northcote Road, and there might also be another toddler in tow or a baby in a pushchair. You wouldn't get young children to walk that distance in 25 minutes. I would say the 50 minutes estimate was pretty realistic. Personally I wouldn't be happy with that. Nothing to do with the school itself. I've no idea what the school is like but just wouldn't want to make that journey with young children twice a day. And a 15 minute bus journey from where to where and how often do they run? In the morning rush hour buses can be erratic if there's a long walk to the bus stop as well it may be better to walk. I'm just very glad I'm not in that situation!

Well said redwoman. I don't live btc but it's unbelievable what I'm reading some people need to get a grip! All this for a couple of schools? Glad I don't live there with all the biterness and snobby attitudes sounds like hell to me!

They do say the truth hurts........
Never look down on someone on ur way up in life , cause u might just meet them again on your way back down.

Or actual middle class...! I have rarely seen such an unprofessional brief quite apart fromthe target market 'gaffe'

Stating you would rather sell your house and downgrade just to go private does not state the distance but the school in itself. My child goes to a school about 4 mins walking from stewarts road and i then get a bus to the area of northcote road and it takes approx 10 to 15 mins on the bus, this is 5 days a week. its a 25minute walk from stewarts road to northcote road, so depending on where people live its possible. I choose not to drive during the week as i am lucky enough to work in sw london so do not have to travel miles. Papinian i will look at the link , i am sick to the back teeth of people looking down on people who live on council estates or send the children to schools that they feel are not good enough for their own children. Every parent has the right to send their child to a school of their choice whether state or private, whether teaching from home, private tutor, but a child can and has done just as well in a state school as a child in a private school, its down to the child, if a child wants to learn they will learn. I myself am a single parent of 4, but i was in a relathionship for 18years and my partner passed away, i have continued to raise my children myself and hold down a job, i have 2 who are now working, 1 entering college in sept and youngest at primary school, they are well behaved, well mannered and polite and respectful. We live on a council estate and i have raised my kids not dragged them up, as some would say of (our kind) . The middle class as they call themselves who look down on (our kind) need to take a long hard look in the mirror ( not all i must state) you are no better than me/us, throwing money at your children and letting them control you (the adult) driving them to school which is just 5 mins away, whilst looking down on us ( do not judge a person by where they live or how they speak, and do not judge a school by the area or the distance, maybe the school that takes longer to get to is the better school. Isnt your child worth the extra commute......Or is it that you just want to get back to the coffe shop to meet for gossip and then go walking around looking down on people? This is not aimed at all as i have met some lovely people but the minority give the majority a bad name.......

"Our mission is to provide an opportunity for outstanding education within a Jewish environment for all primary school aged children in South West London" (but only if their parents are lower-middle class).

Genius.