Pupils have been asked to walk a “dangerous” route to school after it was announced the bus service from their village would be cut this summer.

Oxfordshire County Council will stop providing a bus from Childrey to King Alfred’s School in Wantage from the summer term.

The council has instead designated a bridleway for pupils to walk to school which is said to meet national guidelines for a safe walking route.

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However, parents have described the route as a “pothole ridden dirt track” and worry for their children’s safety. 

Oxford Mail:

Sarah Chambers has seen all three of her children attend the school and her 13-year-old son is currently a pupil.

Her children would typically leave her house at 8am and catch the bus from the stop near the village hall.

However, her son has now been asked to walk a route that she estimates takes as long as 45 minutes.

She said: “It’s an unlit puddle strewn road. There’s no drainage and at this time of the year it’s just covered in puddles.

“One of my friends walks their dog there and says it's filthy. To think that kids will walk along this. It also has cars driving along it as it’s the access for a farm. It’s just all a bit silly.

“It means they get to school covered in mud. It’s fine on a dry day but we don’t live in a dry country.”

Michael Hadley said he will not let his 14-year-old daughter walk the route, and he is worried for the safety of his 10-year-old daughter when she starts at the school next year.

He said: “The route from Childrey goes across some really remote fields. It is pothole ridden dirt track and the moment it rains its horrible.

“They have to walk on a remote bridleway for half a mile and then cross a road that is not lit. It’s dangerous from a footing point of view but also from a child on their own point of view.

“The road is incredibly busy and visibility on that single track road is very poor. Even for adults it’s not safe. It’s not like Wantage where you have footpaths and traffic lights.

“This is a decision made by Oxfordshire County Council to save money that is ultimately risking our children’s safety. “

A spokesman from the county council said: “The distance from Childrey to King Alfred’s School is less than the statutory three miles required for us to provide school transport.

“We have previously provided a bus for them, but this situation was always subject to review. 

“A thorough inspection of the bridleway has been carried out and we are satisfied that its condition meets the requirements of the national guidelines used to assess safe walking routes to school.

“Therefore, from the start of the summer term, Childrey children will have a choice for getting to school, walking along the tarmacked bridlepath or paying to travel on the seat they had used previously for free.”