Thrapston parents face school bus bill after rule change

Parents will have to pay for school journeys between Thrapston and Prince William School in Oundle

Parents have been left facing bills of hundreds of pounds after a council changed its rules over free travel.

North Northamptonshire Council has decided funding for buses would only be provided to the nearest suitable school with places from 2024.

Pupils from Thrapston, who normally go to Prince William School in Oundle, would have to pay under the plans.

The council said the change had been made to be fair to council tax payers.

The council said it provided more than 8,200 journeys to schools each day, and also provided a service for 1,200 children with special needs.

The annual budget for home-to-school transport is £11m but, in the 2022-2023 year, the budget was overspent by £3m.

The council has to provide a free service to a child's nearest suitable school that has places, but anything else is discretionary.

It has decided to charge parents of children from Thrapston Primary who transfer at the end of Year 6 to Prince William School in Oundle because Manor School in Raunds is closer.

'It wouldn't be plausible'

Thrapston Town Council held an extraordinary meeting last night to discuss the issue, attended by some of the parents affected.

Lauren Brumby has one child at Prince William and four at Thrapston Primary, and believed she would eventually face an annual bill of £7,000.

"It just wouldn't be plausible. That money that I would have to put towards the bus would have to come out of something else such as bills or food," she said.

Hayley Brackley, who also lives in Thrapston and has a son who will be going to Prince William in 2025, was worried about whether his friends would able to afford the charge.

"My child has said [about] his friends 'I don't know if they'll come' - and that's almost two years away for him," she said.

Hayley Brackley said her son was worried his friends might not be able to afford to attend Prince William School due to travel costs

Matt Binley, the council's executive member for transport, said: "Our officers are going to be working very hard to try and help wherever possible with the transition and mitigate any of the impact.

"This policy has not been reviewed for 10 years. The council rate-payers have been paying parents to choose not to send their child to the closest available school."