Tolworth – 16 miles away

By Emily Dalton

local democracy reporter

A mum is driving her daughter nearly 16 miles to London every day, claiming there are not enough school places in Surrey.

Emila moved from London to her “dream home” in the countryside in November 2023. She  and her family moved to Jacob’s Well, Guildford, in search of green areas and more places to explore.

But, despite being on the waiting list for a secondary school place for 10 months, Emila still has to drive her daughter, Daria, to Tolworth and back every day. Emila said applying for school places has been a stressful experience.

Although it was easier to find a place for her son, who started primary school this year, she said she has had to apply for six different state school places for her daughter. “Clearly the area needs more secondary schools,” Emila said, frustrated that she is still waiting after almost a year.

Daria, now in Year 8, faces a 40-minute commute to school, and back, every day. “She gets tired and stressed about it,” Emila said. The family have to get up very early on school days, preparing to face sometimes a long drive on the M25 and A3 before a day of work.

Describing Daria as quiet and sensitive, the mum said her 12-year-old was really looking forward to moving to Surrey, and was really hopeful to change schools and make new friends. As the new term has already started, Emila said Daria is still “detached” from her home in Guildford, unable to make friends and have a life here.

“Every day we have special arrangements,” Emila said. “Long-term it is impossible, both time-wise and money.” She described how it takes two parents to drop the kids off at school every day: her husband dropping off her son in primary school, and herself driving on the busy motorway for between 40 minutes to 1 hr 30 minutes. “The costs have increased as well,” Emila said, “You go from spending £20 a week on fuel to over £100 a week.”

At the start of October, Surrey County Council offered her child a place at Christ’s College in Guildford. But Emila does not want her daughter to join the school. “Like every parent, I have a preference of where I want my child to go,” Emila said, “You want what is best for them. It’s not a school for my children.”

Christ’s College is an Ofsted rated “Good” school in all categories, from their latest report in October 2022. Inspectors found the school to have been “transformed by its current senior leaders”. One parent is cited in the report saying: “The school has made massive strides forward since the appointment of the current principal, and standards, expectations and behaviour have improved drastically.”

Emila said she fears she is not getting anywhere and it is like “facing a wall”, waiting to hear back from Surrey County Council (SCC) about school admissions. Not knowing how long she will have to wait for a school place for her child, Emila said she doesn’t feel supported but that she is “on her own”.

Cllr Clare Curran

Clare Curran (Con), SCC Cabinet member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, said: “Whilst Surrey strives to meet parental preference, it is not always possible to offer a place at a preferred school where that school has more applicants than places.

“Parents who apply to a school and cannot be offered a place have a statutory right of appeal, as well as the right to go on the waiting list. The local authority monitors the outcome of applications and ensures that all children needing a school place are offered one.

“If a parent needs further help to access a school place closer to home, they are advised to contact the council’s School Admissions Team.”