No walk to school should put children on 60mph roads with no pavement; or make them cross roads above a 20mph limit without a pedestrian crossing; or trudge through dark, isolated woods, or along muddy, flooded tracks that can remain under water for the whole of the winter season; and yet ESCC is asking children as young as eleven to walk a two-mile route that includes all of these dangers every day of the school year. This is not acceptable, nor safe.

East Sussex County Council has announced that due to cost-cutting measures schoolchildren living within a 3-mile radius of Chailey School will no longer receive a bus pass. This could include children living in Chailey, Spithurst, Barcombe, East Chiltington, Streat, Plumpton Green and Wivelsfield Green.

For some children, walking to school is a pleasure: they get to meet friends, breathe fresh air and get a bit of exercise. But only if the walk is safe. Where it isn’t safe, children should be able to meet their friends on the school bus.

For some parents, getting their children to school in a car is manageable: it’s on the way to work, or they can organise their day to drop off and pick up the kids. But this is difficult when work commitments start early in the day, or where each child may have to attend a different school or when the family hasn’t got a car. School busses cut down the number of cars on the road, improving air quality, and ensure children get safely from home to school.

Charlotte Strong, who lives on the Town Littleworth Road says: "The families along Town Littleworth Road - including six children from four different households about to start Chailey school - have all had their bus pass requests denied. Some children who already have bus passes have had them taken away. Making our children walk to school is madness.

This isn't just an exhausting trek. More worryingly it exposes our children to potential harm. Not only are the roads dangerous, but it also includes isolated wooded areas. We simply can't just disregard their safety in this way. Maybe fifty years ago when there weren't so many lorries hurtling around or when parents could walk them halfway, we could have managed it. But nowadays when everyone is working ... it's crazy! This cost-cutting exercise by ESCC is putting our children's lives in danger".

Barcombe families are calling on East Sussex County Council to provide a bigger bus. If you believe that the safety of our children should be a priority, not an afterthought and that ESCC should make sure our children can get to school safely, then please sign our petition. Your signature will help protect our children. Let's work together to ensure every child in our community has safe, reliable access to their place of education.