Walking School Bus
What is a walking school bus? A group of children, supervised by 2 parents who walk a designated route to school.
Why have a walking school bus?
Originally the idea was to reduce traffic at the school gate, however it has the added benefit of keeping parents and children fit, teaching young children how to walk safely to school, providing an opportunity to meet children and parents in your local community, an environment for the older children to mentor and build relationships with the younger children in the school.
Children enrolled at Hillsborough Primary School can walk as little or as often as they choose. The WSB relies on parent volunteers to commit to one or two routes (before or after school) to walk the children - and up to no more than two sessions per week.
If you have any questions about the Walking School Bus, or your child is interested in joining, please call the school office and they will put you in contact with the WSB coordinator.
Our three WSB routes are as follows:
| Pukeko's route: Begins at the shops on the corner of Queenstown Rd and Frederick St. It crosses the road here at the pedestrian refuge crossing (flags to be used) and heads up Carlton St. Next stop is at the corner of Sunnyridge Pl, and also one on the opposite corner. An adult will cross here and bring new passengers to join up with the bus. The next stop is on the corner of McIlroy Ave, outside number 80. From here the bus continues up Carlton Rd, crossing to school at the Kea crossing. | |
Kiwi's route: Begins at the corner of Bluff Terrace and Frederick St. From here, depending on who is walking the route, the bus will either go along Frederick St or along the walkway, (it was thought that perhaps the stairs at the end of the walkway might be difficult for someone with a pushchair). At the top of the walkway the bus crosses Frederick St to bus stop 2 at Belfast Reserve. From here the bus travels along Frederick St and around the corner into Belfast St. Bus stop 3 is located on the corner of Farnol St and Belfast St. Bus stop 3A is located directly opposite this, on the other side of Belfast St Children at 3A will be crossed over Belfast St by one parent from the WSB. The bus will then proceed up Belfast St and cross over to the school at the Kea crossing. | |
Tui's route: Begins at Kathryn Ave Reserve, where it continues along Eaton Rd , crossing to bus stop 2 at 10 Eaton Rd. From bus stop 2 it continues along and around Eaton Rd and up Olsen Ave. Bus stop 3 is located outside 2 Olsen Ave. Bus stop 3A is located directly on the opposite side of Olsen Ave. The bus will cross Olsen Ave and pick up any children at bus stop 3A. It will continue up Olsen Ave and around the corner onto Hillsborough Rd, crossing at the pedestrian crossing. From here it will continue along Hillsborough Rd and down into Belfast St . The bus will cross at the Belfast Street Kea crossing and continue into school. | |
