Last Tuesday, my son boarded a bus to be told he couldn't get on because he hadn't got enough money. Fortunately a really kind lady loaned him the extra 10p to get home from school otherwise he could have easily fallen victim to some form of child abuse or even worse.

I have lived in many areas of the country over the last 20 years but I do not know of any other area in the UK where you are penalised for choosing a school out of the usual catchment area.

As a professional but single parent, come September the bus fares will cost me £64 per month to send my two children to school. This is extortionate. The authority should be encouraging us to be green and use public transport — this hardly encourages us to be green. I chose an out of area school because of the poor reputation of the local secondary school.

I have a Catholic friend who lives in Hoyland near Barnsley. Her son travels on three buses daily to get to his Catholic school and gets a free bus pass because of his faith. Derbyshire County Council has refused to give me one because I do not fulfill their criteria and Stagecoach offers no concessions for school children — why?

Surely someone can sort out this problem because I refuse to believe that I am the only one in this situation.

D. Saxby,

New Whittington,

Address supplied.


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