Parents urge council not to scrap school bus

Elaine Worsley's youngest child has special educational needs and is not able to get a bus on his own

Parents have urged council decision-makers not to scrap a dedicated bus service to Bradford's only Catholic secondary school.

On Tuesday, Bradford Council launched a consultation on proposals to withdraw the routes to St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic Collage and Bingley Grammar School from September 2025.

It is part of a wider plan to save £40m as the council attempts to balance its books over the next five years.

One St Bede's and St Joseph's parent said it may mean sending her children to a different school.

Laura Slack, 33, has a son in year eight and a daughter in primary school, and said the prospect of sending her youngest child to a non-Catholic school closer to home is "extremely overwhelming".

Without the school bus, her children would have longer days and would have to take multiple public buses.

She said she was considering finding a different school for her daughter because of fears the journey would be "stressful".

"The absolutely amazing education you get from St Bede's and St Joseph's and the support you get from them is second to none," she said.

"It would be heartbreaking to see my daughter go to another school and it's worrying me all day, every day."

Laura Slack said it was "extremely overwhelming" to think about sending her daughter to a different school

Mother Elaine Worsley's youngest child has special educational needs and is not able to use a bus on his own.

"He can't ask for help when he needs it, he struggles with direction and has no road sense," Mrs Worsley, 38, said.

The withdrawal of the school service would mean her son would have to change buses in the city centre, something she said "would not be appropriate for him".

"It's just going to cause a lot more complications than we would like," she said, adding that it was important that both her children attended a Catholic school.

"Obviously it brings them up with the same values we were brought up with as children," she said.

"There are not many options for that in Bradford anymore."

'Essential service'

In a letter to council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, the headteacher of St Bede's and St Joseph's College, Lawrence Bentley, said that more than 900 pupils "depend on this essential service".

He wrote that removing it "could prevent families from choosing a school that aligns with their values".

Mr Bentley also said "the value of this education far exceeds any financial savings" and urged Hinchcliffe "to consider the broader impact" the decision would have on families and the community.

A petition against the decision has been signed by more than 2,300 people.

Pupils not eligible for free travel currently pay a weekly fare to use the bus service, which is subsidised by the council.

The council said that without the subsidy there would be a considerable increase in fare costs, but any fare increase would be for West Yorkshire Combined Authority to consider rather than the council.

A spokesperson for Bradford Council said: "The council is facing unprecedented financial challenges and needs to look at every area where it can make savings.

"The proposals to change school travel arrangements, including the removal of dedicated bus services to Bingley Grammar School and St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, could save Bradford Council in excess of £500,000 a year.

"The proposals are subject to consultation and would also need approval by the council's executive.

"If agreed, they would be implemented from September 2025.

"There are very few children who use these buses who actually qualify for free transport, and those who do so would continue to have assisted transport provided for them whatever the outcome of the consultation.

"The council is working with the schools concerned to address any issues that could arise if the proposals go ahead."

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