I’ve been working in Cobham for a month and a half now, and it struck me the other day, that I have honestly not once seen a child riding a bike to school.
All the schools I pass are private schools, and most of the traffic jams are caused by the long line of 4×4’s turning into them dropping the children off.
The only reason I can think of is that the majority of the pretty wealthy school mum’s don’t work, so are able to drop them off.
I was also wondering though (as mad as it may seem) whether the schools actually have a no cycling policy? Cobham’s not exactly central London so I’m struggling to believe that. Surely in this day and age a bit of exercise on the way to school should be encouraged? This isn’t even a mild rant, but I just thought it a bit strange.

Mostly because they aren’t local I would imagine.

Aren’t they all boarders? Living in dorms and playing the biscuit game?

I doubt it’s specific to private schools.

Chelsea Tractors need to be shown off, that’s it.

Mummy & Daddy never learnt to ride bicycles.

I live a few miles down the road from there half the week.

This isn’t a typical place. It is Surrey. The land of the black range Rover driven badly by a blonde on the phone

People only ride their bikes at weekends wearing Rapha training for sportives…

Bigger catchments. They’ll be coming from 10 of miles away for the good/fashionable ones.

Chelsea Tractors…

There you go, just like I said. Not local.

Chelsea must be 10 miles from Cobham 😆

“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to”

– Dorothy Parker

Chelsea training into ground is in Cobham.

This isn’t an attack on private school kids, I just wondered why I hadn’t seen a single one?
I used to love riding to school with my mates.
It used to be a mini adventure every day.
I think they’re missing out.

My son goes to private school and 1 child rides his bike to school, the others don’t live close enough to, my son included.

I wish I didn’t have to take him the 7 miles each way, but if we want him to go to private school then no option.

This isn’t an attack on private school kids,

And who could have predicted it would turn out that way 😆

I used to. Mainly in the summer when I was a day boarder as it was still light when school finished (9pm). Winter was no fun due to country lanes, unlit trunk roads and the old Everready D cell lamps (jumpers for goalposts etc).

Once I was 17 and had passed my test I used to drive in and park the car in the village (we weren’t allowed to drive to school). Sadly my 1975 850 Mini wasn’t a 4×4, in spite of regular efforts to go off-roading 😀

My mother does drive a Range Rover now. But then she is 72 years old….

My two boys know a kid who races with them and boards, he is not allowed to train outside of the school gates, so he has to do all of his training on rollers/turbo (he hates it!).

Kids tend to live further away, no such thing really as a catchment area for a private school. My kids went to schools as close as 10 mins drive or as much as 40. 10 min drive school was on big busy roads I wouldn’t have wanted them to cycle on anyway. We knew a few kids who walked to the school as they lived close enough.

A decent number of private school mums work, often in order to pay the school fees.

I used to ride my bike to (state) school fwiw

There’s a few teenagers where I work. they all get lifts in/out from parents, despite living less than a mile away! All are state school educated. As a responsible adult setting a good example, I skid in sideways now and then 🙂

I used to go to the private school next to the Chelsea training ground (it was something else then), I cycled.

Because they don’t have parking for horses….

Wouldn’t worry. Corbyn wants to rid Britain of private schools. He’ll ban Chelsea Tractors and resurrect British Leyland (nationalised) and everyone will be driving Austins. No one will be allowed to go to anywhere but their catchment area school and as the entire country will be on strike with the immense power of unions, there will be no fuel so everyone will be walking or riding to school.

If he can force kids to ride bikes or skateboards also instead of girly scooters, then we’ll be in proper 70s.

Oh and kids will be glowing from eating their Ready Brek.

There are plenty who ride in to Jnr’s school (private). Lots get the bus and lots get dropped off. However, as mentioned above lots of Jnr’s mates live a fair trek from school and cycling isn’t necassarily safe or easy.

Jnr ocassionally rides, but he stays for revision sessions most nights and living as far away as we do it wasn’t something we fancied him doing when the nights were dark.

deadkenny – Member
Wouldn’t worry. Corbyn wants to rid Britain of private schools. He’ll ban Chelsea Tractors and resurrect British Leyland (nationalised) and everyone will be driving Austins. No one will be allowed to go to anywhere but their catchment area school and as the entire country will be on strike with the immense power of unions, there will be no fuel so everyone will be walking or riding to school.

Really don’t worry. If Strong & Secure Theresa forces through the unwanted hard Brexit in the way that she’s making friends and influencing people now there’ll be no services industries, no manufacturing, no farming, no health service, some police, no bin men and no builders. Having a SUV that you can’t afford the payments on or fill with fuel sounds just dandy to me.

Seems to be the case with all schools, not just the private ones.

Some schools have safe access and facilities, some don’t.

Haha what do you do in Cobham? I work there too (for an insurance company) and it’s a pretty small place.

I’m disappointed in general at the amount of car traffic schools generate. Even as a cyclist – where you’re relatively immune to traffic – my commute to work is significantly better during term holidays.

I think it’s probably a South East thing for a few reasons. Busier, hence more traffic and reasons to avoid the roads. Parents have more money, hence are able to be selective in choice of schools which may not be just around the corner.

Our school’s a state school, but in the countryside. One of the mums occasionally did the school run by horse when my kids first went there (her kids are older and have now moved on).

Oh and while we are at it, when I am driving my son to school in our posh BMW, some peasants are waiting at the bus stop to send their kids to the local comp less than half a mile away 🙄

choppersquad – Member
I’ve been working in Cobham for a month and a half now, and it struck me the other day, that I have honestly not once seen a child riding a bike to school.

Life is much more precious at that age then taking the risk to ride to school. They just do not want their children to be part of the statistic. 🙄

They can even drive an 18 wheeler or Chieftain tank to drop the children off I am still fine with that … 😛

Kids tend to live further away, no such thing really as a catchment area for a private school.

There’s two state schools, plus a primary near where I live, plus others the other side of town, the nearest private school is St Mary’s in Calne, which is a boarding school, with international pupils, and there’s little difference regarding cycling, most of the kids walk, because on a bike they can’t talk to their friends in large groups spilling off the path onto the road/cycle-path, have tinny ‘music’ playing, texting other friends, checking their social media…

I live in the South East, in Kent.

Pretty average village, not particularly “posh”.

None of the immediate local schools are private and I never have seen any children riding to school.

The traffic is pretty horrendous for what should be a quiet rural location, the roads the schools are on are terrible for cycling and I avoid them on the bike.

However, the worse time is probably the school run, busy traffic with crazy parking by dozens of cars. Despite the majority of the catchment area being within walking distance.

Broader catchment area and an increasing fear of cycling on roads – traffic density is heavier and people drive more aggressively.

That said, my son is at a prep school; several of the local children do cycle or are cycling with parents on a trailer bike.

Unless I’ve missed them – there are no cycle paths in Cobham. I know of three private schools in Cobham and if my boy went to them he wouldn’t be cycling (busy roads).

We’re a couple of miles from Cobham in Leatherhead and loads of kids cycle (my boy does every day) but there are good cycle paths and it’s safe.

Also I ride with Rapha wearing weekend warrior road cyclists too. Cobham just has crap traffic/roads.

Not just a Private school thing. the roads around schools in all the towns and villages near me are littered with SUV’s and 4×4’s dropping their kids off. For some reason parents do that these days. I used to walk to school on my own when at primary school, but these days I guess parents perceive that kids are at more risk these days.

I think it’s jsut a signs of modern society.

I have this feeling that if someone can’t SEE where they want to go (i.e line of sight) then they feel they have to drive there.

My son goes to a state school, with a fair shair of lower socioeceonimic families (not a dig – I came from a very poor background) and in reality, the poorer people DO live nearer the school, and don’t have access to numerous cars, so do scoot and walk moreso it seems.

I think it’s lovely getting kids to use their legs to move around – should be encouraged.

DrP

My mate (who got me into cycling), lives in a nice Oxfordshire village, private school on the edge of the village. We went to pick his kid up from school – in the car – took us 2 mins. “Why doesn’t he ride or walk?” I ask. Shrugs, no one does. They love to battle with the Chelsea tractors for parking. The kids have bikes AT the school. They cycle around the grounds… but they all get lifts in! Nothing to do with catchment area, it’s just what they do.

tonyg2003 – Member

We’re a couple of miles from Cobham in Leatherhead and loads of kids cycle (my boy does every day) but there are good cycle paths and it’s safe.

I’m nearby – do some kids use that newish cycle path between Leatherhead and Ashtead? Useless for adults IMO – do any of them use it?

My son went to a private school, there was no facilities to lock up bikes and no one cycled in. I lived in Netherlands for a while and I guess around 95% of kids cycled in, but easy to do when it’s flat and they have great cycle paths.

Live right by a state school, all the nearby residential roads get clogged up by parents parking to pick up kids so its not school dependant.

I went to a private school, loads of us rode to school, then spent our lunch breaks practising trials on discarded pallets out the back, were even taken mountain biking a few times as an option in P.E. lessons. Doubt H&S would allow that these days.

@mudshark Yes the cycle path between Ashtead and leatherhead is used by children cycling to school. I’d agree that for us road mamils its not very good and the road next to it is pretty wide (not trying to reopen any – should be use cycle path arguments).