Free bus travel to and from Longhill High School extended

More students living in east Brighton will now be given free bus passes to help them get to and from Longhill High School.

We recently reviewed walking routes between Whitehawk and the school in Falmer Road, Rottingdean, to see whether free travel already offered under our home to school transport scheme should be extended.

Following this review we've decided the route taken by students from Whitehawk to Longhill which sees them walk via Wilson Avenue and Warren Road should not be considered suitable. A second route, which included walking along the coast road, had already been dismissed as unsafe in a previous report.

Scheme extended to BN2 5 

As a result, families with a BN2 5 postcode will now be able to apply for a free bus pass for any child attending the school. 

The cost of extending the scheme is expected to be around £22,000, depending on who applies for the free travel. This funding will come from our existing home to school transport budget. 

Committed to listening to residents

Councillor Emma Daniel, Cabinet member for Children, Families and Youth Services, said: “As a council we are committed to listening to our residents, so when families in Whitehawk contacted us to question whether the existing routes to and from school were suitable for their children, we listened and agreed to review the historic arrangements.

“Our findings supported what we were being told by local families, so we are expanding the free transport scheme to include more children living in Whitehawk and studying at Longhill.

“I would personally like to thank each of the families who contacted us about this. Every child deserves the same opportunities and access to education and we’re determined to remove any barriers or additional challenges wherever we find them."

Families should not be forced to pay

Councillor Daniel added: “It is absolutely right that families should not be forced to pay for buses when there is no suitable alternative walking route and we know this extra cost will have been particularly felt during the cost-of-living crisis.

“All children should also be able to travel to and from school without arriving at lessons exhausted or anxious because they have had to make an unsafe journey. 

“We will be carrying out a full review of home to school transport walking routes across the city in the autumn and if we find similar issues elsewhere, we will do all we can to rectify them.”

Anyone who would like to confirm whether their child qualifies for the free bus pass can email: hometoschooltransport@brighton-hove.gov.uk or phone 01273 293501.