Representatives from CAM have invited local councillors, representatives from Surrey CC and local businesses to join them on a walk between the two sites of the Tomlinscote and Kings. The walk has been planned for Thursday 19th May at 10am (During National Walk to School Week). The purpose of the walk is to see for ourselves the issues our children may have to face on a day to day basis if this proposal were accepted.Currently Tomlinscote is a school where the majority of children do walk to school each day. If the proposal were accepted it will be virtually impossible for many of our children to walk to school, due to distance, road safety and logistics.
We would like to invite you to join us on this walk.
We will be leaving from Tomlinscote Way, heading along Chobham Road towards Frimley Park Hospital. We will cross the A325 and head along Frimley Road towards Kings International College.
The walk has been specifically timed so that Children will not be involved as we consider their education to be of the upmost importance. It is not our intention to affect traffic flow or cause any disruption to general public daily routines.
So far we have confirmations of attendance from many local councillors and respresentatives from SurreyCC.
Participants in the walk are responsible for their own safety. The organisers do not take responsibility for traffic control and can not be held responsible for the actions of people taking part in this event. Participants will be reminded that this is not a protest event, but the opportunity to highlight potential issues that may occur as a result if the proposal were accepted.
http://www.964eagle.co.uk/news/review.php?article=426683
With Regards,
CAM - Campaign Against Merger
Working together to remain separate
Relevant other posts:-
http://tomlinscote-kings.blogspot.com/2011/04/school-bus-promises-you-can-bet-these.html
http://tomlinscote-kings.blogspot.com/2011/04/school-bus-cuts-to-grove.html
Consultation = No Buses - Travel may be worst for Kings KS4's
Are the Tomlinscote govenors going to be invited as well?
ReplyDeleteWould be fab to have some buggies/strollers in too. After all, I would imagine some mum's & their toddlers might want to walk their children to school.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fair trek, http://goo.gl/maps/QpJo 37 mins according to Google Maps.
ReplyDeletebut wont traffic be quieter at 10am? its hell around 8.00 onwards!
ReplyDeleteAre dogs allowed?
ReplyDeleteWhy wait till 10am. Surely it's best to go straight after the school run at 9am.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea and I will be there to suport CAM, but really this walk should start from Heatherside Deepcut or Frimley Green
ReplyDeleteI think this walk has been planned at the wrong time to represent the children and their plight and that of the parents. 10am is a relatively quite time down Chobham Road and outside Frimley Park Hospital. To relay/highlight the perils of the walk to the children the walk needs to have been done at the correct times in a.m. and in p.m.!
ReplyDeleteAre 'The Powers That Be' being given the following to walk with:-
ReplyDelete1. Heavy full rucksack with school books etc
2. Laptop
3. Separate haversack containing full P.E. Kit
4. Yet another haversack/sports bag
containing full football for after school
training (different kit required to PE!)
5. last but not least, cooking ingredients,
perhaps some eggs and soft fruit which need
to get from A to B in tact!
This is what my son luggs into school most days, is only fair the walk is undertaken so it represents a typical daily school walk!
Please please stress to the powers that be partaking in "the walk" that many children will already have walked for 20 to 30 minutes (or more) before even reaching Tomlinscote...... Just in case they think it's easy!
ReplyDeleteWhy wait wait til 10am , the roads will be quiet ,this should of been organised between the hours of 7.30am - 8.30am , rush hour . This would then show the true impact of this proposed merger.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this is being done at the wrong time of day, it should be done earlier to represent a proper school day. They should also be carrying all the equipment stated above. Most children dont live on the Tomlinscote doorstep so why are they starting the walk from there, it needs to be from further away. Doing it at this time of day and from this distance seems pointless !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe LEA Consultation proposes that Key Stage 3 students would be based at Kings and Stages 4 & 5 at Tomlinscote. This would mean Key Stage 3 students would need to get to Kings from their home and back home again. The LEA is offering a free bus service for this, therefore students would not be walking to Kings via Tomlinscote. Consequently, I am not sure what a walk between the two schools would prove.
ReplyDeleteYou seem quite well informed about the LEA proposal would you like to clarify where the bus will go from - to and who will qualify. If you have information that is not available to the general public perhaps you would like to submit it here and I'll publish it.
ReplyDeleteWe were told at the Kings meeting that buses would be provided for people who were more than 3 km from school - that would affect a lot of people including people as far as Heatherside. I hear rumours that this is to be dropped to 2km which means that people living outside the gates of Tomlinscote will not qualify since it is 1.8km between the schools. Even worse it is not stated 2 or 3 km from where... the nearest site, the furthest site or half way between the two sites. It rather suggests that if you know more than has been put out (as Tomlinscote Kings says) that you are an insider - in which case put out the info you know.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with all the comments, especially the ones demonstrating that the walkers should be carrying what the students are expected to carry. Unfortunately I will be unable to do the walk myself but you have my full support. I shall be cheering you on from my work place near the hospital. Good luck all.
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:31 please note it is 1.8 miles between Tomlinscote and Kings threfore a walk between the two EXACTLY fits what a lot of people will be required to do. The latest SurreyCC proposals say that the qualifying distance will be 2 miles. 2 miles will help Heatherside and Deepcut but will leave a large proportion of Tomlinscotes catchment area to walk. I'm struggling to see what point you are trying to make.
ReplyDelete2 miles in the car is about 50p probably worse than that because the car will not be efficient over a short distance but anyway....
ReplyDelete190 school days per year 50p there 50p back to drop child, then 50p there and 50p back to pick up child so thats £2 per day in fuel times 190 days is £380 per year.
SurreyCC better be paying for my childs laptop totally because with the additional travel cost I can now no longer afford it.
At best the travel will be 30 mins each time so an hour per day... lost salary is significant too.
I support the walk and am only sorry work commitments mean I cannot join you. I do still think another walk should be done at peak times, which could still be possible without children.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to SCC proposal for a school bus service for those 2+ miles away I'd make the following points:
1. those 1.9 miles away are still required to walk and face the safety/traffic issues
2. the offer is made from point of merger for those attending the lower school at the time, for the duration they are on the kings site and for current year 6 going up. I do not see it written anywhere about upper school children or if you have a child currently in Yr 5 or below. Don't expect a bus service to be offered when they get to secondary school!
3. Once the time frame has passed, there is no commitment from SCC to continue a bus service for 2+ miles so expect that it will not. I would suggest this is highly likely to be withdrawn based on the number of school bus services already axed around Surrey. It is offered as a short term sweetner/bribe!!!!
I support this walk - any event will not please everyone but with another 5 weeks to go there is certainly time left to organise another event as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment by AW. I am in support of the walk.
ReplyDeleteI'm in support of the walk but agree it should be done in the rush hour. 10 am is when the traffic has quietened down substantially.
ReplyDeleteI support this 'Walk the Walk', but would be very happy to walk it again at rush hour with my yr 5 child who is worried she will have to walk 2 miles alone to and from 'Big' school in the dark in the winter. So lets make a date...
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that we should create some traffic on the road to make the a whole idea of the march more realistic, how everything will look during rush hour?
ReplyDeleteI personally would prefer to take my children out of school for the walk. Whilst I realise some parents object to their children being "politicised" at such an early age, most children already realise and understand the impact the merger is going to have on their well being and quality of teaching. If we are to protest then it has to be all or nothing. Having said this however, I respect the line that CAM is taking and will be joining the march come rain or sunshine.
ReplyDeleteWell, just did the walk from Tcote to Kings, thank you CAM. This is not a trip in the car I would like to do every day before my drive to work (at the other side of Frimley). Today the weather was great but we all know how that changes....
ReplyDeleteI did the walk too this morning, thanks CAM for organising it all so well! Shame the guy from the SCC refused to carry some of the school equipment our children will be expected to carry on a daily basis on their 'yomp' from Toms to Kings! As the comment above stated, it was hard going today when the sun was shinning, can't imagine how the kid's will cope in wet/freezing weather walking that distance! Maybe letting our children walk it next is not such a daft idea, I'm sure the press would cover it!
ReplyDeleteI supported the walk and would welcome another walk in the morning after school drop off. The Chobham Road, Porstmouth Road and Frimley Raod are still busy between 8.30am and 9.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see more SCC staff and all the governors complete the walk with school equipment. After all these are the people who are making the decision.
Thank you CAM. SJ
Can everybody please write to all the governors at Tomlinscote if you support CAM. SJ
ReplyDelete