Council U-turns on bus policy for Thrapston and Islip pupils travelling to Oundle's Prince William School

Parents in Thrapston and Islip are celebrating following a policy U-turn by North Northants Council that would have seen their free bus service to Oundle removed.

Pupils travelling up the A605 to Prince William School by bus faced a £760 bill for each child to attend the link school for the Thrapston area.

Yesterday (Thursday, October 26) parents and carers received a letter confirming the Thrapston-area children would be exempt.

Mum of two Hayley Douglas, who had been campaigning to save the free service was delighted at the news.

She said: “I think it’s the only decision they could have made. As parents we are both delighted and relieved by the news that Prince William School will be considered the nearest suitable school for students living in Thrapston and Islip and therefore the bus to school will continue to be free for our children.

“It is a shame the policy change was rushed through without this issue being resolved sooner as it has caused a lot of unnecessary stress for parents of current year six children who only have until Tuesday (October 31) to make their secondary school choices for next year and whether we were going to have to pay for the bus or not was a significant factor in us being able to make an informed decision.

"But thankfully we have had a positive outcome to our campaign – to seek an exception for Thrapston – now and we are pleased that a fair and sensible solution has been put in place.

“We’d like to thank everyone who signed and shared the petition and give special thanks to Thrapston Town Council and our local councillors for their support in helping our voices to be heard.”

North Northants Council said following a review by council officers the policy included ‘suitable’ schools ‘as per the Department for Education’s definition’ and therefore eligible for statutory free transport, under the admissions criteria if a school which is geographically nearer is full.

A spokesman said: “It has been recognised that whilst Thrapston is nearer to Manor School than to Prince William School, Manor School regularly has limited spare capacity and therefore is not suitable for supporting the significant demand for school places from pupils living in the Thrapston area.”

The new Home to School policy changes will be introduced from September 2024 for the start of the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

Cllr Matt Binley, North Northamptonshire Council's executive member for travel, said: “There has been some concern from parents, NNC Ward Councillors and the MP about the impact of the new Home to School policy from parents in the Thrapston area. I am delighted to announce that we can now clarify, that parents from the Thrapston and Islip areas who state a preference for Prince William or Manor School, and meet the other criteria within the Home to School transport policy, will be eligible for statutory free transport to school.”

Earlier this year people were asked for their views on new policy proposals for the future of home-to-school transport provided in North Northamptonshire.

The council said that although refreshed annually, wide-scale changes have not been introduced for about a decade and with rising costs, the council needed to ‘re-examine its approach and the amount it can afford to subsidise’.

Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, added: “I am pleased for the families in the Thrapston and Islip areas. The new policy means that younger generations can continue to follow in their family's footsteps."