FURIOUS parents say dozens of Radcliffe children are being left stranded outside a school on a nightly basis.

A large number of Radcliffe-based pupils at Tottington High School are reportedly having to make their own way home each night due to overcrowding on buses travelling to the town.

Two buses currently run from the school to Radcliffe before and after school, however, the increasing demand for the afternoon service means parents of year 10 and 11 pupils have been told to ‘look at alternative travel options at home time’.

It means that pupils must either catch two buses to get home – one into Bury, and then another on to Radcliffe – or arrange for parents to pick them up. There have even been reports of pupils attempting to walk home.

Andy Gregg, who lives in Lever Street, says his 13-year-old daughter has been stranded on three or four occasions since returning to school at the beginning of this month.

“I have had to go and pick up a group of them,” he said. “I should not have to do that, they should be able to get on the bus.

“Tottington have tried to be helpful with this and they have taken pupils home in a mini bus.

“I don’t want my children to be left at school to get a bus from Tottington into Bury, then have to hang around the bus terminal to get a bus into Radcliffe.

Fellow Radcliffe resident, Suzanne Taylor, whose son is in year 11 at Tottington, added: “It is a safeguarding issue at the end of the day. The darker nights are going to be coming in soon so the school bus is safer.

“The school provided a mini bus a few times, but they have said they cannot do that anymore because they need it for sport and it is not cost effective.

“They are trying to pass the buck to parents now.”

Earlier this month, Transport for Greater Manchester informed the school that they would need a third bus to Radcliffe after conducting a survey into the demand for existing buses.

The school’s headteacher, Brian Duffy, has issued a letter to parents, attempting to explain the situation. In it, he expressed his ‘huge disappointment’ at TfGM not being able to fund a third service.

He added: “We are advising that parents look at alternative travel options at home time. Pupils can buy a weekly “System One Bus Pass” that can be used on any bus within the Greater Manchester area.

“There are also other tickets available e.g. a combined bus & tram pass.

“From Monday 24th September, we are requesting where possible at home time Y10 & Y11 pupils catch the 469 Tottington Line bus into Bury and then catch Bus No 98 or 524 from Bury to Radcliffe using the System One Bus Pass (timetables are on the school website). As you can understand our younger pupils are more vulnerable and are not confident enough to travel independently.

“This would ensure that they can catch the school bus home.

“We will continue to negotiate with the TFGM to resolve this issue and will contact you again with any updates to this situation.”

TfGM’s interim head of bus services, Alison Chew, said: “In the case of Tottington High School, we provide for a number of different services to support families from a wide geographical area, including Edenfield, Ramsbottom, Tonge Moor and Radcliffe.

“These services are reviewed annually and, in cases where we are aware that services are oversubscribed, we can try and meet the demand by revising services elsewhere that have capacity available.

“Unfortunately, budgetary restrictions mean that we are currently unable to meet any extra demand for school services. We will however continue to monitor all services to see if any can be revised in future. We have informed the school of this and advised them on the nearest general bus services available.”