Coach transport for Junior School: FAQs

Coach Chaperones

1. What time does school begin?

The doors open at 8.30am and girls can be dropped off between 8.30am and 8.45am

2. How do I make contact with other people in my area to arrange rotas?

In the Summer Term, prior to joining the School, address lists for the whole First School are handed out. These are re-issued each year. There are a great many rotas involving girls from different classes and different year groups.

3. How does the coach service work?

There is an extensive network of coaches which run on 12 routes and include 89 stops. For example there are routes to Hampstead, St John's Wood, St Albans, Kentish Town and Northwood.

Click here for a list of Coach Routes and timetables.

4. How old do the girls have to be before they can use the coach service?

Reception children can use the coach as soon as they are settled in school. Ideally parents should bring the girls for the first half of term, but we are always happy to discuss individual cases.

5. Who looks after the girls on the morning coach?

A member of our Parents' Guild helps you to find an older girl who travels on the same coach and will act as a chaperone for your daughter. The girl will ensure your daughter is seated and belted up. She will escort her to the First School and hand her over to the staff. Many lovely relationships (and babysitters!) arise from the coach chaperone system.

6. Can girls travel to and from school on the coach?

Yes, older girls chaperone girls on the morning coaches (see above). There is also a coach that leaves school at 3.30pm and makes its ways through Stanmore and Mill Hill and via Golders Green to St John's Wood. There is an adult escort on this service who collects the First School girls from their classrooms and accompanies them on the coach and then ensures that they are met safely at their coach stop. There is an additional charge for the afternoon coach escort service.

7. Is the school accessible by tube?

The school is within walking distance of Edgware, Canons Park or Stanmore stations. There is a minibus shuttle service from the station in the morning and from school back to the station at 4.30pm every day. Parents/carers can then accompany the girls to school on the tube and then they can be chaperoned on the minibus and escorted into the First School in the mornings.

Click here for Shuttle Bus timetable

8. What time does the school day end?

The First School day ends at 3.10pm. Girls with sisters in the Lower School may wait in their classrooms until 3.20pm. Girls using the afternoon coach service home, are collected by the escort at 3.20pm.

9. Are there any after school activities for the First School?

Year Two girls are able to have small group recorder or violin lessons after school. They may also wait in the Lower School late room until 4.00pm if they have a sister in a Lower School club.

Safely in the First School corridor...

Strong bonds develop between chaperones and pupils...

Sixth Form helpers look after the First School girls before lessons begin...