St John's School Transport
At St John’s we work closely with our partners at Durham County Council’s ‘Sustainable Transport’ to provide an extensive and affordable home to school transport service that covers the majority of South West Durham.
As you can see from the map, all of the main areas are covered by our fleet of coaches. We also have three mini-buses with bespoke routes covering some of our more rural locations. If your location does not seem to be covered then please contact us to see what help we can provide.
The majority of our coaches are provided by the well-established local company, Garnett’s Coaches. They provide modern coaches and experienced drivers that meet all of the requirements of today’s transport needs.
St John’s Transport Subsidy Scheme
At St John’s, we are acutely aware of the cost of living challenges facing many of our families today. To support our families, we provide a subsidy scheme designed to help our families who struggle to meet the costs of home to school transport. Whilst transport costs will vary with inflation, it is our aim to keep fares as affordable as possible. Transport costs for the school year 2023-24, based on family income are as follows:
For families with children already at St John’s, we offer second and third child subsidies as follows:
Applying for Free Transport
It might be possible to apply for free transport to St John’s via the Durham County Council website. For secondary school children who are eligible for free school meals, or whose parents receive their maximum level of Working Tax Credit, free transport will be provided to:
- one of the three nearest suitable qualifying schools, if that school is more than two but less than six miles from the child's home OR
- the nearest suitable secondary school preferred because of religion or belief for children whose parent(s) adhere to that particular faith, where that school is more than two but less than fifteen miles from the child's home. For this purpose, at least one parent and the child must be baptised Roman Catholic in order to qualify for free transport to St John’s.
The easiest way to see if your child is eligible for free home to school transport, please click on ‘Apply for free home to school travel’ on the DCC Home to School transport webpage.
Applying for a seat on a St John’s coach
All applications need to be submitted to Durham County Council. On their website, you will find out more information about the service that we offer and the current coach timetables. It will also give you a step-by-step guide on how to apply. You can find out more information by following this link.
Behaviour Expectations on our School Transport
We expect the high standards of behaviour and conduct on our coaches. When you apply for home to school transport for your child through Durham County Council, you are required to sign a declaration stating that you agree to uphold good behaviour. Parents/carers have a key role to play and you are responsible for the conduct of your children. Further details of the associated policy can be found by following this link.
