What we mean by 'nearer, similar' schools
Our rules for who gets free school travel sometimes depend on how far from school you live, and whether there's another school you could go to, nearer to home. We want to be clear and fair about what we mean by these terms.
We measure the distance from home to school along the shortest walking route.
When we say 'similar' we simply mean another secondary school.
We do not look for schools with the same faith or single-gender rules or the same 'type' of school – academy, grammar, foundation or community. And we do not look for the same 'specialism' such as specialist technology or sport.
Dates we do the checks for 'nearer, similar' school places
We use a few fixed dates to check if there are 'nearer, similar' places you could go to when you're applying for a free travel pass:
- School starters (Year 7), September 2024: we checked on 1 March 2024
- Other applications received before the start of Autumn term 2024: we check on 19 July 2024 (used for summer processing period only)
- Other applications received in Autumn term 2024: we check on 6 September 2024
- Other applications received in Spring term 2025: we check on 10 January 2025
- Other applications received in Summer term 2025: we check on 25 April 2025