Coach Routes
We offer an extensive private coach service for our pupils, with routes running throughout Suffolk and Essex. Pupils can use our coaches from the age of five.
Prices for coaches vary depending on distance travelled. More information can be found in our latest Coach Route booklet.
A £250 deposit is payable for pupils to use our coaches to guarantee their place on the route. This is returnable when the pupil leaves the school or no longer wishes to use the coach.
Prep Pupils
Prep School class teachers take a coach register each morning. This register is then checked at the end of the school day when the children gather in the Prep Hall in their coach lines. Teaching Staff then escort the lines to the specific coaches.
Senior Students
The school will ensure that Senior School pupils leave lessons promptly to meet the departing coaches. Staff will arrange meetings/detentions at a time which will not delay the pupils from meeting their coach at the end of the school day. Duty staff will also ensure that coaches leave at their scheduled time and will contact the Transport Manager or Receptionist should any issue arises.
Sixth form or Year 11 volunteers act as ‘School Coach Prefects’. The Prefects monitor whether pupils are adhering to the Coach Code of Conduct (see conduct below) and will be encouraged to report any problems to the Head of Senior School.
Explore Our Coach Routes
Booking a Coach
Once a parent has decided on the route you can book though the Kura app, more information is below. Please complete the Coach Registration Form and pay the £250 refundable bus deposit via BACS.
Reception will then make contact to confirm that there is a place available and any further queries that may arise.
The Finance Department will add the fees for the coach route to Parent Pay and transport is to be paid via three equal termly instalments.
Find Out More
The Transport Manager will be the first point of contact for ongoing operational queries: transportmanager@ipswichhighschool.co.uk or 01473 201033. The emergency transport contact number for out of office hours is 07736 288105.
The Finance department will be point of contact for billing enquiries: j.rieder@ipswichhighschool.co.uk or 01473 201022.
Our Coach Code of Conduct
Responsibilities of School and Operators
All coach operators comply with best practice standards which require them to provide:
- Proof of satisfactory insurance;
- Vehicle maintenance programmes.
- Enhanced DBS clearance
- Clean Driving Licences
- PCV licence
- The right to work in the UK
- CPC Qualification
Responsibilities of Parents/Carers
Drivers will not allow pupils to exit the coach other than at the designated stops or leave young pupils alone at the roadside if they are not met by parents/carers. Should a carer not meet the coach, in the first instance the driver will continue the route, with the pupil remaining on board, and contact with the school will be made.
Responsibilities of Pupils
Pupils are expected to adhere to the Coach Code of Conduct travelling on any coach. A serious or persistent violation of the code will result in exclusion from the service by the School. Pupils should also meet the coach on time and not delay departure.
Procedures to Follow in the Event of an Emergency
Parents/carers must always contact the School Reception or Transport Manager in the first instance. The emergency transport contact number for out of office hours is 07736 288105. The School Office will alert the Senior Management who will consult with the operator if required. The operator may be driving and may not be able to take your call but will try to respond as quickly as possible.
Should the Operator inform us of an issue with the service i.e. delay or mechanical problems, the School will assist by swiftly communicating to the relevant users. If contact is required with the coach while in transit the School will call the dedicated Coach Prefect on route to assist further. Prefects’ mobile numbers will not be given to third parties and will be held securely by the school Receptionist and Transport Manager.
Should the school undertake an early closure before the end of the school day, we will contact parents via in-touch text and email. We will also communicate on the website any emergency arrangements regarding transport for pupils and proposed timetables.
