School run in the fifties

Sounds as if that was across the Atlantic, Wendysue. Until well into the 60s, many families here didn't have cars, nor did many mums have driving licences - mine didn't. Very few worked outside the home. It wasn't until I was eleven that I was allowed to ride my bike to school and what a time-saver that was. My dad did have a car, but there was a bus that served the factory where he worked and he always used that.

Was that in the UK, Wendysue?

Oh and yes, that means my mother drove us 4 times a day - to school in the morning, then home for lunch, then back to school and then home again at 3 o' clock. And still got all her household chores done and so forth! Not sure you would want to do that much driving back and forth though, LOL!

Well, I grew up in the fifties and my school was NOT "across the road" though it wasn't too far away (a few blocks). And my mother drove us to and from school, including picking us up for lunch though I knew kids who walked. (I didn't know anyone who took the bus till we were about 11 or 12.

About that going-home-for-lunch part - you didn't mention it, but a lot of kids I knew went home for lunch in the early years. A lot ate lunch in school, too, so you can handle that either way. I just thought you would want to know, if you didn't already, that having kids eat lunch at home was very common in those days when so few mothers worked outside the home.

My mum worked in the 1950s! (part-time, but every morning including Saturdays.)

School transport should be provided for primary school children if the distance is 3 miles to school.

My children are 8, 5 and 2....youngest in a pushchair. I was just interested. Bus fares are expensive for the three of us everyday. We own a car but my husband uses it for work and in the fifties I don't think I would have access to a car. I guess the kids would have walked to school and back themselves but I cant bear to risk that these days, especially 3 miles! I suppose I can't expect them to walk 6 miles a day either but it doesn't bother me for myself.....and in the fifties I would be busy with all the house duties so I suppose I wouldn't have time doing all that walking!!!! ?

I don't remember anyone being taken to or from school by car.

We never had a car anyway, so there was no choice. Shanks's Pony, bus or bike!
at least the roads weren't clogged up by mums in their 4x4s in those days, moaning how hard up they are

Ah yes, gaberdine coats, velour hats and gymslips. I knew it was time to give up the bike and start catching the bus to school in about October when my fingers were freezing by the time I got to school, despite knitted gloves!

In 1945 Mum took me from 5-7 and then I was on my own, but usually met up with friends along the way, for the two-mile walk. Part of it went through a park with swings and after we'd wasted a bit of time in there we ran all the way to school. At 11 my senior school was next door to the primary school. I got a bike - posh, with 3 gears, and cycled, including coming home for lunch as school lunches were quite expensive. A few of us cycled together, two abreast, and there was very little danger from traffic. It can't have been comfortable in gaberdine coats, velour hats and skirts, but as there was no alternative, and females didn't wear trousers, that's just how it was.

I always walked to and from primary school and came home for lunch too, so four trips a day on my own from age 5. Daily total would be about 2 miles for the four trips.

Grammar school was about 5 miles away and I had a bus pass. The bus went from just round the corner from our house. In summer I often cycled to school on my heavy old sit-up-and-beg bike with no gears and only one rod brake. All my peers walked a lot - we had very little spare cash so there was no alternative. It was either shanks' pony or the old bike if we wanted to go anywhere.

I think a 6 miles round trip on foot is too much to expect of children every day.

In the 50's primary school was across the road. From age 11 got a bus, which we had to pay for as it was just under 3 miles. 3 miles plus pupils were given a pass for the local buses, no school buses in our area. I think many people walked a long distance to primary school, some used bikes, cars just didn't appear. I would think travel mode depended on the ages and physical ability of the children involved.

PS If you lived up to 3 miles from school you did not qualify fro the bus - you were expected to walk!!

I walked to primary school (a long way!); and for secondary I walked to the bus stop and got the contract bus.

Well, the OP was asking about our experience of getting to school in the 50s - obviously times have changed!

I don't think you can compare walking to school now and then .

I used to walk a mile to and from school with my brother, then, there and back for lunch. It was about a mile.

We had no problems with traffic as now. Children used to walk freely, even in suburbs of London. Walked with friends as I got older and had lots of fun. We collected cookers and looked for elves in the trees.

Went to secondary in 1960 and walked a 2 miles there and back. Never thought about paedophiles even though there were as many about then as now.

I had to walk a long way to even get to the bus stop both for primary and secondary school in the early 60's - the school was a good 2 miles from home and my dad's car was parked in a garage nearly as far away as the bus stop so he never took me. More often than not we just walked all the way to save the bus fare. I guess I was lucky with my own boys as we always had the school at the top of the street wherever we lived so I didn't have to do the school run - they went on their own from about 7 but that was a long time ago - I'm not sure I'd let them do it now.

We never went to school with parents!

When I was 5 and my sister a couple of years older, we walked about 2 miles each way to school and back in the 50's.It does seem a long way now thinking about it.We could have got a bus for the first mile, and in bad weather I remember we did,but we liked to spend the busfare on sweeties!
We walked a lot, even at weekends were taken for long walks, so were used to it.There were plenty of buses though, and a journey only cost pennies( old pennies.)

I was taken by Mum for the first week, after that we were on our own. Perfectly normal and we children had much more freedom to learn about the world I think.

Thinking back to the 50s, I'm sure that children who lived 3 miles or more from school came by school buses, presumably subsidised. Primary school children in our area all lived within walking distance from school, although nowadays the little darlings might well be delivered by car if they had a three quarter mile walk or bike ride which my sisters and I did four times a day, as we went home for our midday meal.

When I started school in 1957 we lived in a village 4 miles outside Derby and the school was in Derby. My sister, me and a close neighbour were taken to school by car by either my Dad or Rosie's Dad. Usually we were taken home by car but sometimes had to get the bus to the village then walk the mile and a bit home.

Same here, walk and/or bus. We didn't have special school buses, but I think we could get a bus pass, at least at secondary school.

I was never accompanied by an adult from the age of about 7 and most of the others weren't either.

Yes on our own by bus or walk- although you would have had to live in the sticks to walk 3 miles to school

I walked as did everyone else in our area but as we lived in London it wasn't actually very far.

Across the road from the age of 5 until 7, friends and I on our own.
I started school in 1950.

From 7 onwards it was by bus to the junior school; the trek to the bus stop was quite a long way and school was about 2 or 3 miles away. Sometimes we walked home (a couple of friends and I) because we wanted to call in at the library on the way home. It was through a not very nice area and we had to cross a main road.
From 11 onwards I went by bike in the summer and by bus and a long walk in the winter.

There was no such thing as a school bus, in the winter DM used to put the money for the bus fare to the junior school inside my glove!

We never had an adult accompanying us.