The school run, when the school is two hours away.
Exeats, half term, the end of term and the flight home. All of it booked in advance, driven by a chauffeur whose name you have in writing, and confirmed to whoever is responsible for the child at both ends.
- 20+years in private travel
- Ownedchauffeur fleet in London and Manchester, a trusted global network beyond
- 24/7operations desk, one contact
- 3services on one itinerary: car, jet and yacht
In partnership with Harrods Aviation · Signature Aviation · SW Global
Who books this
Parents abroad, guardians here
Most of these journeys are arranged by somebody other than the passenger: a parent in another country, an appointed guardian in England, a family office, a school office, or the assistant who keeps the family diary. The child is often thirteen or sixteen and perfectly capable, and what everybody actually wants is to know exactly who is driving, when the car will be there, and that somebody will say so when it arrives.
That is the service. A car and a chauffeur from our own London or Manchester fleet, booked as far ahead as the school calendar allows, with the chauffeur's name and mobile number confirmed in writing before the day, and a message to the people who need to know at collection and at arrival.
We should be plain about one thing. We provide transport. We are not a guardianship organisation and our chauffeurs do not act in place of a parent or a guardian, take custody of a child, or make decisions on anyone's behalf. Where a guardian or a school requires the child to be handed to a named adult, we will work to exactly that instruction.
The termly rhythm
When the cars are wanted
- Start and end of termThe busiest days of allEvery family at the school moves on the same afternoon, and the lanes around the gates fill up. These are the dates to give us first, as soon as the school publishes its calendar.
- Exeat weekendsUsually one or two a termShort leave weekends, often from Friday afternoon or Saturday morning until Sunday evening. Schools set their own, and they rarely fall on the same weekend as the school next door.
- Half termA week in the middle of termLate October, February and the end of May, depending on the school. Many pupils fly, so the journey is usually school to airport one way and airport to school the other.
- Matches, concerts and speech daysParents travelling inOften an away fixture or a prize giving where parents land in the morning, sit through the afternoon and fly out the same night. A car held for the day is simpler than three separate journeys.
Give us the school calendar for the year and we will hold the dates. Termly diaries are the easiest way to be sure of a car on the days every other family also wants one.
How a journey runs
From the booking to the gate
- 01
What we are told
The pupil's name, the school and the exact meeting point on the site, who is authorised to change the arrangement, and the phone numbers for the parent, the guardian and the house staff.
- 02
What we confirm
The chauffeur's name, mobile number and the car, sent to you in writing the day before. Nobody has to greet an unexpected stranger in a car park.
- 03
On the day
A message when the chauffeur sets off, a message when the pupil is in the car, and a message on arrival. If the journey is long we will say so again in the middle of it.
- 04
At the other end
The pupil is taken to the door, or to the person you have named, and the bags are carried in. Trunks, cellos, ski bags and sports kit are expected rather than a surprise.
What is included
The things parents ask about
- The chauffeur's name and number in writing before the day, and the same chauffeur for the recurring journeys wherever the diary allows
- Messages at collection and arrival to the parent, the guardian and the school office, in whatever combination you ask for
- Luggage that a term generates: trunks, duvets, a bicycle at the start of the summer term, instruments that must travel in the cabin rather than the boot
- Child seats and booster seats for younger siblings, fitted before the car leaves base
- Waiting time at airports for a flight that lands late, with the arrival tracked rather than guessed at
- Journeys planned so that a pupil is never left standing outside a closed gate, including a plan for what happens if nobody answers the door
Journey times
Airport to school gate
| Journey | Typical drive | What to allow |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow to Windsor, Eton and east Berkshire | 25 to 50 minutes | The shortest of all the airport runs, and the reason so many overseas families choose flights into Heathrow. |
| Heathrow to Harrow and north west London | 30 to 60 minutes | The A40 and the North Circular decide it. Add time for a weekday afternoon. |
| Heathrow to Surrey, around Guildford and Godalming | 45 to 85 minutes | The A3 is quick outside the peak and slow inside it. |
| Gatwick to the Sussex and Kent schools | 30 to 75 minutes | Depends entirely on which side of the county. Tell us the school and we will give you the real figure. |
| Heathrow to Hampshire and Winchester | 70 to 115 minutes | The M3 is reliable until it is not, usually on a Friday. |
| Heathrow to Wiltshire, around Marlborough | 95 to 150 minutes | A genuinely long drive. Worth a comfort stop on the way out. |
| Stansted or Luton to Cambridge | 40 to 80 minutes | The obvious pairing for the Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire schools. |
| Manchester to the Cheshire and north west schools | 30 to 70 minutes | Driven by our own Manchester chauffeurs. See Manchester chauffeur service. |
Typical ranges in normal traffic, given for planning. On the first and last day of term the roads immediately around a school are the slow part, not the motorway, and we build that in.
The cars
Chosen for the trunk and the cello
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Up to 3 passengers
Right for one pupil with a case and a rucksack, or for parents travelling in for a speech day.
Mercedes-Benz V-Class
Up to 7 passengers
The practical answer for the end of term, for siblings at different schools on the same afternoon, and for anything that will not go in a boot.
Pupils flying in and out
Unaccompanied minors and the handover
When a child travels on an airline's unaccompanied minor service, the airline will release them only to the adult named on the booking, who has to be there with identification that matches. A chauffeur cannot be that person unless the family has named them and the airline has accepted it, and in our experience the cleanest arrangement is for the guardian or a parent to do the handover while the chauffeur takes the bags and waits with the car.
Tell us which service the child is travelling on, who the named adult is and which terminal they will come out of, and we will plan around it rather than discovering it in arrivals. Where the family flies privately instead, the handover happens inside the private terminal and takes minutes. See private jet and FBO transfers and meet and greet.
For families who are new to this, our guide to flying privately with children covers the same ground from the air side.
Where this connects
The rest of the arrangement
Getting here
Around the school
For the whole year
One account, one diary, every date the school publishes
Families with two or three children at different schools find it easier to put the year on an account: the dates go in once, the journeys are confirmed back to you, and one invoice covers the term rather than a dozen separate arrangements. Guardianship organisations and school offices can be set up the same way, with the authority to change a booking held by named people only.
Request a quote
Tell us the school and the dates
The school, the dates you already know, who is travelling and who should be told when the car arrives. If you have the school calendar, send it and we will quote the whole term at once. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions parents ask
About school transfers
Will I know who is driving my child?
Yes. We confirm the chauffeur's name, mobile number and the car in writing before the journey, and we will answer any question you have about the person driving directly rather than pointing you at a marketing page.
Can you collect a pupil without a parent in the car?
Yes, with the written authority of the parent or the appointed guardian, and with the school informed. We will not take a child from a school on a verbal instruction from somebody we have not been told about.
Are you a guardianship service?
No. We are a chauffeur company and we provide the transport. We work alongside guardians, school offices and family offices, and we follow the instructions they give us.
What if the flight is delayed and the school gate is shut?
We track the flight and tell you and the school as the picture changes. Before the journey we agree what should happen if the arrival slips past the hour the house can receive a pupil, so there is a plan rather than a phone call at midnight.
Can the same chauffeur do every exeat?
Wherever the diary allows, and for a recurring termly arrangement we try hard to make it so. See dedicated chauffeur.
Can you take the whole house to an away fixture?
That is a different service and usually a larger vehicle. See group travel and tell us the numbers.
One contact, wherever you are