By Katie Green

Copyright cambridge-news

A father is calling for children in lower-income families to receive free bus passes after his daughter, 16, was refused one. Maja Stachurski has been attending Thomas Clarkson Academy in Wisbech since Year 7.

Last year, Maja passed her GCSEs at school, achieving grade 9s in science-related subjects. She decided to stay on to sixth form to study maths, further maths, physics, and computer science.

Ever since Year 7, Maja, who lives around seven miles away in Guyhirn, has been able to travel to school at no cost with a free bus pass. However, this year, when she turned 16, despite still being in full-time education, her family were told she would no longer be able to receive a free bus pass.

Maja’s father, Maciej Stachurski, said it “came all of a sudden” when he and his wife were told Maja couldn’t get a free bus pass anymore. Maciej also has a son in Year 8 at the school who still has a free bus pass.

He said: “It has been very useful for both of them. We were told because Maja was over 16 and as we were both working, she couldn’t get the bus pass anymore.

“I spoke with my manager and she has allowed me to come into work a bit later, finish earlier and continue work from home, but it is still difficult. For now, we have been taking the kids by car to school.

“It’s an extreme cost in petrol, and we are losing money. We are not able to fulfil working hours, so it is a problem.”

Maciej has attempted several times to try and fight for his daughter to get back her free bus pass. However, he has so far had no luck.

Maciej said: “The only information I have had is we would have to buy a bus pass for her, even though the term has already started.” A bus pass for one term costs £324.50.

Maciej claims he was told after the school term started that this is how much a bus pass would cost for the full term. He was told he would have to pay this amount even though his daughter wouldn’t have used it since the first day of term.

Maciej added: “I have asked if these days when Maja didn’t have the bus pass, if these would be refunded, but I am still awaiting an answer. For one term, the term is 36 days, so that is like £9 a day.

“That is a lot of money for us. Maja is aiming for university, and she would like to continue at Thomas Clarkson.

“The free bus pass has been very useful for us, but now it is a problem. We want her to chase her dreams, and for us, we live in the middle of nowhere, so it is difficult for us to get places.

“It feels like we are in this situation where we are not well-off enough to buy the pass and forget about it, but we are also not in the position to go on benefits. I feel like we are stuck in the middle, and I believe there are other families like that, and we are forgotten about.”

Matthew Dobbing, associate principal of Thomas Clarkson Academy, said the school understands the “frustrations families face with the challenges of Post-16 travel” in its rural location. He added: “Unfortunately, Cambridgeshire County Council can only provide free school transport up to Year 11.

“However, some students are still eligible for subsidised transport through the council’s website. While we are delighted that our sixth form has grown significantly in recent years, we also recognise the pressure that travel can place on families.

“We firmly believe that financial hardship should never be a barrier to education and are committed to supporting our students, such as providing every student with a laptop. We regularly encourage any students, parents or carers facing difficulties to contact the school directly, to explore how we can support them, and in exceptional circumstances, we can provide bursaries to subsidise or cover travel costs.

“If travel costs are a concern for any young people and their families thinking about sixth form, they can find out more about how we support our school community at our sixth form open evening on October 16 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.”

Cambridgeshire County Council provides ‘Home to School Transport’ to children who are eligible and young people as a “statutory duty”, which is in line with government guidelines. A county council spokesperson said: “Students over the age of 16 are not generally eligible for free school transport, however, we are required to consider their transport needs.

“Therefore, we offer subsidised assistance for families with low incomes, and those who do not meet the criteria for subsidised assistance have the option to purchase spare seats on our existing contracted routes at a cost of £324.50 a term. These charges reflect costs involved and are reviewed for each academic year.

“If a parent or guardian believes their child has been inappropriately denied transport assistance, then they have the right to appeal the decision.”