Plea for parents to pick-up children away from the school site

by Lisa Reeves

Sunday 1^st April 2018

Sun 1^st Apr 2018

Parents of children at Wilmslow High School are being asked to consider picking their children up at an agreed place away from the school grounds.

A newsletter sent to parents said "As our school community has grown in size, there has been more pressure placed upon the surrounding roads and public transport before school starts and at the end of the school day. This increase in traffic and number of students being dropped off at school between 8.40 – 8.45am has sometimes resulted in students arriving late for morning registration (which starts at 8.45am)."

During the past term the school has received a number of other concerns from both staff and members of the community regarding travel to and from the school.

These include: vehicles entering the school site to pick up students between 3.10 and 3.20pm when only taxis are allowed to pick up students; vehicles parking on the Broadway verge - land which does not belong to school - and blocking the road for other cars.

Additionally vehicles have been parking in the turning circle opposite the main gate at the end of the school day and using the staff car park as a cut through to access Wilmslow and the A34."

The newsletter continued "We appreciate that there is very little space near to the school site where vehicles can wait to collect students at the end of the day. This problem would be alleviated if parents could arrange to pick up students at a prearranged point away from the school site. Please consider this for the summer term.

"Thank you for working with us to help make the start and end of the school day as stress-free and safe as possible for all of our school and local community."

Tags:: Wilmslow High School

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Dina Robinson

Sunday 1^st April 2018 at 10:00 am

No mention here of cars "queueing" at the A34 roundabout to get onto school site. Last Tuesday afternoon a car approaching the school from Prestbury Road had stopped in the middle of the road causing a potentially dangerous obstruction. Surely this must be illegal. If access to the school is blocked it would be easy enough to carry on to the next roundabout and return to try again.

Paul Hampton

Sunday 1^st April 2018 at 10:04 am

I am afraid this is an opportunity missed by the school, to remind parents to exercise safety and consideration when dropping off from the A34 side. Every few days we witness at least one car stopping on the actual A34 roundabout to let children out. Yes, that is correct - stopping on a 70mph section of highway, in order to drop children off.

Another common manoeuvre is parking on the pavement immediately off the roundabout in order to drop off, in doing so delaying other drivers’ egress from school / ingress from A34 - all to save a precious 60 seconds on the morning commute.

Both of these examples are symptomatic of the wider problem of selfish and inconsiderate driving / parking across our town.

Hopefully with better weather we’ll see an increase in students walking in.

Jonathan Fox

Sunday 1^st April 2018 at 1:00 pm

I went to Wilmslow High in the 90's and both myself and my peers walked to school. Very few people were dropped off by car. Maybe we cure the obesity problem, the traffic problem, the noise problem and the safety problem by reverting back to this mode of transport.

Simon Worthington

Sunday 1^st April 2018 at 5:12 pm

Rather simple. I understand that in parts of the USA it is illegal to drive within 250 yards (no metric there) of a school to drop or collect offspring no matter how large they are.
No point using this as an argument to solve obesity - the kids would walk straight to Slobway or Greggs.
A few of our busy plod present at the right time could dole out a few tickets.

Monday 2^nd April 2018 at 9:58 am

Jonathan - is there an actual ‘obesity problem’ at Wilmslow High (a high performing specialist sports college) or were you generalising, perhaps at a national level?

Simon - I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt over what was perhaps an attempt at humour and not the unwarranted denigration of the kids of Wilmslow - which is kind of how your comments came across.

But let me tell you both, my experience of the students of Wilmslow High is that they are better informed about exercise and nutrition than many adults I know. So why not try having some belief in the future generations of our town :)

Roger Bagguley

Monday 2^nd April 2018 at 7:16 pm

RoW has represented time and again the solution to the traffic problems brought by the school is to strike an access from the A34 between the Alderley Road roundabout and the railway line. This could serve all that is planned for Royal London as well as providing for a one way system servicing the school. It is a no brainer bringing enormous benefits to the school, to neighbours and to the town centre but nobody at CEC is listening and local Conservative Councillors do not get it, still representing the existing accesses from Alderley Road to Royal London are sufficient to provide for all houses, offices and an hotel. Clearly not, the result being outline permission is now granted for a third access point to the site accomodating more traffic to Alderley Road and to the annoyance of those living in Whitehall Close. In the meantime the school gets bigger and the traffic problems there get worse. Is there anyone associated with CEC Planning and in influencing planning decisions capable of joined up writing?

Fiona Doorbar

Tuesday 3^rd April 2018 at 7:32 am

Who has confirmed that the school is getting bigger Roger? All my conversations with the placement team at the council have never uncovered such information!?

Tony Haluradivth

Tuesday 3^rd April 2018 at 9:50 am

The school and council repeatedly exort the kids to cycle to school (they do not say the same to teachers or Council staff mind). Our granddaughter did for a bit in the Autumn but then stopped because in her words the cycle lanes are "scary" covered in debris and potholes (particulary Prestbury Road cycle lanes) . We reported debris and thorns growing unabated and after 15 weeks of nagging them Highways went in for a little bit of pruning. So you see there is no joined up thinking on this. They just make "noise" about cycling but leave the roads to deteriorate at such a rate that they become a danger for cyclists (even in full protective gear) . Furthermore the school only have a very small number of lockers available at a charge and they are as rare as hen's teeth (I dont know if most folk appreciate this) so it also creates a problem for changing into cycling gear etc. Our grandaughter now gets dropped within safe walking distance (not the roundabout!) and walks back to Alderley unless there us v. inclement weather or she has nobody to walk with.

Jon Williams

Tuesday 3^rd April 2018 at 10:01 am

The roads around Wilmslow are NOT safe to cycle to school on !

Alan Brough

Tuesday 3^rd April 2018 at 1:21 pm

Jon Williams,

I agree 100%. I've just returned from a trip to Holland where most school children, as well as thousands of other commuters, get about in safety and comfort by bike.

The Dutch made a massive investment in proper cycle-ways that keep cyclists and cars apart. That investment will have been paid back many times over in terms of better transport efficiency and (more importantly) health - there is very little obesity in Holland and the children in particular are a model of good health.

Wednesday 4^th April 2018 at 10:43 am

Fiona: information is that, in the absence of any decision on the future of secondary education re the Local Plan, an additional 30 Year 7 places will be created this September at WHS. This is likely to have to be repeated in subsequent years but classroom space is limited.

RoW has attended at 2 stakeholder meetings re the future of secondary education provision, has stated the need for an additional 1000 places and for a rethink on access to the Royal London proposed developments that will resolve the current traffic issues for the school and will allow for the school to grow.

So far nothing!

Emma Arkelaos

Wednesday 4^th April 2018 at 11:10 am

The new train times front May onwards will leave children at school very early or late, this will inevitably lead to more children arriving and being collected by car.
Logistically increasing the capacity of an already large school will have an adverse impact on the children and community feel, each year group is already in half with little interaction between the two halves.

The only solution is a new secondary education provision on a site for north Wilmslow and Handforth. Why are the schools currently involved in forming the MAT all Alderley and SOUTH Wilmslow schools?

Christian Hurstfield

Wednesday 4^th April 2018 at 5:06 pm

Good job they aren't looking to increase housing...

Bob Bracegirdle

Wednesday 4^th April 2018 at 5:50 pm

Same around every school. Drivers think they can do anything anywhere in order to park without walking. Block pavements and drives - all to save a few seconds.

Wednesday 4^th April 2018 at 6:42 pm

Thanks for the "Heads up " on the trains Emma. That had been one of the options up until now as the bus service is next to useless. The kids are not allowed access onto the school site too early and if they get there late? (Well parents can be prosecuted and fined). Theyhave school buses in the US for a reason.

Wednesday 4^th April 2018 at 8:00 pm

A safe walking route across the fields from Heyes Lane to the bypass would also help as many from Alderley could then walk

Ian Wilson

Thursday 5^th April 2018 at 7:15 am

What about getting the lazy beggars to walk to school like I did. It will help give them some exercise and also help to reduce the amount of Chelsea tractors blocking the roads dropping them off!!

Friday 6^th April 2018 at 7:47 am

Looks like I will be adding to the problem if the trains times are changing! My 2 currently commute on the train with a lot of others from Alderley Edge.
Walking would not be an option every day as the school offers no lockers to store sports kit, art folders, camera and other heavy/bulky items.

Jonathan Follows

Friday 6^th April 2018 at 11:41 am

Here is a list of train departures from Alderley Edge to Wilmslow currently: https://bit.ly/2GFBsq9

Here is the same list following the timetable change in May: https://bit.ly/2Ep6KQb

I'm not sure I see a major problem but I remember when I used the train to/from school and my preferred service was retimed to run 6 minutes earlier in the May 1974 timetable update which caused me a minor problem then.

Bill Deverell

Wednesday 2^nd May 2018 at 3:27 pm

Drivers should also be encouraged to switch off their engines if they insist on waiting to pick up. Some of them come up to a quarter hour brfore end of day. Think of the polution and waste.