A HEADTEACHER has raised concerns about a decision to make students aged 11 to 16 pay for a bus service from their village to a Witney school.

The service between Hailey and Wood Green School has previously been free for pupils, but Oxfordshire County Council said it will charge £300 annually from September.

This is because it said a walking alternative via Hailey Road was safe enough to use instead.

But school headteacher Robert Shadbolt said: “The safety of our students is our paramount concern and I share many parents’ anxiety about this decision.

"I am concerned about our students walking the route from Hailey in the dark, both from a road safety aspect and because students of secondary school age travelling to and from school have been approached by strangers in Witney in recent months.

“I have been in contact with the headteacher of Hailey Primary School and we share these concerns and urge the council to reconsider its decision.”

The county council provides free bus services from villages for school pupils between eight and 16 years old, if they live more than three miles away from their nearest school, if they have special needs or a disability, or if there is “no safe walking route”.

The decision to charge for services from Hailey has comes after work on to link to nearby footpaths was completed,prompting the council to decide the route was safe to walk.

But parents and pupils fear they will have to walk down narrow pavements in darkness during the winter months, when they said they would have to leave home at about 7.30am to arrive at school before 8.25am.

Pupils have organised There is a protest walk of the 2.1-mile route today, meeting at the Lamb and Flag pub in Hailey at 7.30pm.