"I can't afford to pay for my child to get to school"

Council's cuts to free school transport has had a huge impact on one mother

FOR one Upper Bucklebury mother West Berkshire Council’s cuts to public services are almost too much to take.

Widowed Kate Jones, who works part-time as a postmistress in Upper Bucklebury, says she has no idea how she will be able to afford to pay £684 so her 15-year-old daughter Anna Rose can get the bus to school.

With no way of paying, Ms Jones fears Anna will have to walk the 4.4-mile round trip from their home in Upper Bucklebury to Thatcham’s Kennet School on a daily basis.

Earlier this month, the council voted in favour of cutting free school transport as part of its plan to save £17.5m, despite thousands of parents warning that some proposed walking routes were unsafe.

Ms Jones said: “It is a dreadful situation we are in. I just don’t know how I am going to do it. I find it really hard to talk about it without getting upset.

“I know of a couple of other parents in a similar boat and they don’t know what they are going to do either.

“The council said that if we paid £77 by March 18 it would guarantee a seat until the start of the new school term, but I haven’t got that kind of money lying around. I know it won’t sound a lot of money for many people but it is for us.”

She added: “I am on a low income and unfortunately I can’t just find £684. Even eight-month instalments are getting on for £100 a month which I simply can’t afford.

“I sometimes have to work early in the mornings, so I’d either have to drop Anna off at school, hours before she starts, or she’ll have to walk.”

The cutting of free school transport will affect five routes.

Other schools affected are Chieveley, Shefford and Aldermaston primary schools and Burghfield’s Willink School.