Transport Letter

End of Scheduled School Bus Service to St Bede's - July 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

I have written to all parents to confirm that it is no longer financially viable to operate a scheduled bus service to St Bede's Inter-Church School and our existing service will finish at the end of this term - Summer 2025.

Due to oversubscription, fewer students are admitted to St Bede's from beyond the local geographical area and so do not use the bus service.   The costs for operating the buses remain constant, so the fare per passenger has increased according to the reduction in passenger numbers.   Following our annual parental survey, the numbers of students who plan to use the service next year has reduced further.   We can no longer justify offering the bus service, as fares would be prohibitively expensive at over £4000 per child for the year.

Public bus services offer subsidised fares at £2 per journey and many students also use the train service to Cambridge, which is a 15–20-minute walk from school.   

We provide bike racks for cyclists, though we expect students to wear cycle helmets and to bring a bike lock.    Electric-powered bikes and scooters are not permitted.

I appreciate that the end of the scheduled bus service will be inconvenient for many families and trust that this notice period will allow for alternative travel arrangements to be made before the new academic year starting September 2025.

With good wishes,

Alistair Day - Headteacher

Public Bus Services

Bus Routes Serving St Bede's:
Route 2: This bus runs from Milton and is a common route for students going to St Bede's.  
Route 3: This route serves Fulbourn and also stops at the school.  
Route 16A: This route serves Great Thurlow and also stops at the school.  
Route T4: This route also serves the school.  

Nearest Bus Stop:
The closest bus stop to the school is named "St Bede's School". 

Some secondary school children may qualify for help with public transport costs under 'Extended Secondary Rights for Low Income Families'. To do so, your child must meet the following criteria:

• be entitled to free school meals or be from a family receiving the maximum level of Working Families Tax Credit (with no reduction due to income)
• be attending secondary school at one of their 3 nearest schools between 2 and 6 miles from their home address or their nearest denominational school (on grounds of religion or belief) between 2 and 15 miles from their home address

Please click the following to be taken to the County Council’s website for further information and an application form: Cambridge County Council Support with School Transport

Rail Services and Guided Bus

There are regular trains and buses running to Cambridge Main Station.

St Bede's is about a 10 - 15 minute walk from the station.