School bus campaign for Shene students
9:13am Sunday 6th July 2008
East Sheen students are facing long waits, two-hour journeys and uncooperative bus drivers on a daily basis, according to their head.
Shene School has conducted a survey which estimated that about 15,000 hours of pupils' education was lost last year due to the lack of service from Transport for London (TfL).
Headteacher Lesley Kirby has seen buses drive straight past her pupils while they stand helpless at bus stops and heard about children as young as 12 being thrown off vehicles that were "too full".
She said that one parent had seen students pleading on their knees to be let on one of Transport for London's (TfL) single decker 33 buses.
The Park Avenue school has sent a "long" letter to Mayor of London Boris Johnson, with a DVD about its plight and a petition with several hundred signatures calling for a dedicated bus service.
Ms Kirby said: "It's completely perverse that other schools in the borough have dedicated buses and we do not."
Currently, three members of staff regularly have to carry out "bus duty" and ensure children are able to get on to them.
She added that with 750 students - many of whom live outside the borough - travelling home at the same time "litter, noise, crowded pavements and general inconvenience" to residents can result.
Parliamentary rivals Susan Kramer MP and Zac Goldsmith have thrown their support behind the school's campaign drive.
However, despite calls from Shene and Ms Kramer, Mr Johnson and TfL are refusing to get on board.
TfL claims that "there is sufficient capacity on the bus routes that serve Shene" and has no plans to introduce a dedicated school service.
Mr Johnson said that since March the 33 was scheduled to arrive every six minutes when classes finish in the afternoons.
Ms Kirby described the suggestion buses stopped so often as "laughable" and Ms Kramer, "disappointed" by the Mayor's response, is planning to quiz him face to face on the issue.
- What do you think about the campaign? Email rtt@london.newsquest.co.uk School bus campaign video
The campaign has now been taken online in a video produced by students and film-makers from Friction.tv.
Year eight pupil Amine Turay, who features in the video, said: "A school bus will be easier for every student because the bus will go straight to school and will always be reliable and on time.
Zac Goldsmith added: "It is unacceptable that something as simple as a lack of buses is having such a detrimental effect on these young people's education."
To see Shene's film visit friction.tv/ftv_debate.php?debate_id=3016