JOURNEY TO SCHOOL

Our pupils travel to school from a wide geographical area and we recognise that easy transportation will be an important factor in your choice of school and in your daughter’s enjoyment of her day.

That’s why we run several minibus routes to make it even easier for girls to reach us and to offer flexibility for parents. Pupils are able to use the minibus service from year 3 upwards.

Sydenham High School currently operates several minibus routes covering areas including Balham, Beckenham, Bromley, Camberwell, Clapham, Dulwich, Forest Hill, Herne Hill, Norwood, Streatham, West Wickham. We try to limit our journeys to one hour. Transport arrives at school by 8.25am and departs between 3.45 and 4pm Monday to Friday within term time. Where possible we follow the major routes into Sydenham and accommodate a certain number of collection points.

The service works on a commitment basis (i.e. not pay as you go or ad-hoc). Places on the school minibus are given for the academic year. It may be possible to stop using the minibus during the year if another pupil from the waiting list can take the place of your daughter. This is not guaranteed.

Please note that any intention to cancel or withdraw from the service must be communicated in writing to the Transport team () with a term’s notice.If you wish to cancel your booking(s), please email the Transport team (). Please also be aware that a full term’s notice is required to avoid being charged.

Transport request

The routes are reviewed on an annual basis, according to the locations of our pupils. In order to plan successful routes over the summer holidays, parents are asked to confirm their child’s commitment on their minibus route in the Summer Term. We operate on a first come, first served basis and if a reply is not received by the cut-off date, their seat may be given to another pupil who has requested the service. Current users of the service will be contacted by the Transport Team to renew your child’s place on the minibus service. If you would like to apply for a new seat on one of the minibus routes please email .

Children swapping route or one off journey permission from parents

As we work on a commitment basis, we do not routinely offer one off journeys to pupils who are not signed up to the service. If a parent requests a pupil travel on a different route than they would normally use, the parent will need to email with 48 hours’ notice requesting their child travel on the alternative route.

Payments

The school’s Finance Office will bill you termly in advance each term. The charges are reviewed on an annual basis and you would be advised of any changes well in advance.

Minibuses and Drivers

We run several minibuses allowing us to take up to 16 students per bus. All our minibuses have regular safety checks and our drivers are DBS checked and registered on the Minibus Driver Awareness scheme (MiDAS).

A sample of our routes are below. Please note that the transport service is incredibly popular and it is not guaranteed that you will be allocated a place.