Getting to Winstanley College couldn’t be easier, and to help you understand the process we have produced our transport page to provide you with all the information you need to arrive via bus, train, car, and bicycle
Instruction bus passTaster day
Please check carefully for the bay your bus departs from. If your bus departs from Bay 3 - please make sure to check all the way to the front of Bay 3 for your bus. Don’t wait at the front of the bay, as buses will not stop twice. As soon as your bus arrives, stand near it to ensure you don’t miss it—missing your bus can lead to a costly journey home for parents.
Bus Signs
This is our transport guide effective from September 2024. This guide gives information about our private college bus routes.
**Important Transport Update**
For current students there are some seats available on several of our private coach services. If you are interested in securing a seat, please contact us at Transport@Winstanley.ac.uk. We’ll gladly check availability and advise on pricing.
Transport Guide 2024/25
If you do not see a service that runs near to where you live, there may be a Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) service that does cover your area.
Please use this link to find out more about the TfGM services
Transport for Greater Manchester bus routes
Please note: Sometimes there can be changes to the routes and departure times especially on the TfGM routes, please check our transport guide and the TfGM website regularly and certainly before your first day of term.
If you think you are eligible for a Greater Manchester Our Pass and haven’t already applied, you should do so now.
Get Our Pass - Our Pass
If you have any other questions about transport to college, please contact us via the form below.
Greater Manchester Residents
If you’re a resident of Greater Manchester, you’ve probably heard about the ‘Our Pass’ which is an initiative launched by Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and The Youth Combined Authority (YCA). It provides FREE travel for 16-18 year olds across Greater Manchester, as well as access to other opportunities such as tickets for sports and leisure attractions and careers and taster days.
This means that residents of Greater Manchester can travel to Winstanley College for free when using a Greater Manchester bus service.
Our Pass
Transport for residents just outside of Greater Manchester who wish to travel on Transport for Greater Manchester (TFGM) buses
This mainly applies to residents from areas of Garswood, parts of Billinge and Appley Bridge which lie just outside of the GM area (if you pay your rates to either St Helens or Lancashire councils this will apply to you). Unfortunately, you will not be eligible for ‘Our Pass’ and should consider purchasing a System One Young Persons’ Saver.?
System One Travel
The annual bus pass for the 2024-2025 academic year is £549. This is a fixed yearly fee and is not adjusted based on the number of days or months a student attends College.
Payment Options:
- Full Payment: You can pay the full amount via Parent Pay at the start of the academic year.
- Instalments: Alternatively, you can pay £100 upfront on Parent Pay, and then set up monthly Direct Debit payments. The Finance Team will send you an invite to set up the Direct Debit.
Once the first payment is made, Student Services will issue the bus pass, which will be ready for collection on their induction day or within 48 hours of receiving payment. Students must show their pass to the driver at all times. We allow a short ‘settling down’ period at the beginning of the term, but after one week, spot inspections will begin, and students must have their permits. Passes are not transferable and the student must only board the bus their pass is for.
If you are applying for a bursary, the Finance Team will inform the transport team if your application is successful, so we can issue the bus pass. Please ensure any bursary documentation is submitted promptly.
Please note: The cost of private transport is reviewed yearly in March. While the College subsidises transport to keep it affordable, the cost for 2025-26 may increase.
For any questions regarding public or private bus services during the application process, please contact transport@winstanley.ac.uk.
The College is fortunate to have Orrell train station 12 minutes walk away. This makes the college accessible to those students from Kirkby to Manchester who may travel the furthest distance. For discounted rail travel apply for the 16-25 railcard
16-25 Rail Card
Go to https://www.thetrainline.com/ to find out if there is a train from your local train station to Orrell train station
TheTrainLine
National Rail – New for all 16-17 year olds – 50% off Rail Fares for a one-off payment of £30.
For more information go to:
https://www.16-17saver.co.uk
To get directions to the College please see the Contact Us page. Here you can enter your postcode into Google Maps and find the easiest route to college.
Parking
There is limited parking on the college site so we cannot guarantee all students a safe place to leave their cars during the day. For this reason, first year students are not permitted to park on the College site. We are currently only able to issue parking permits to second year students at a cost of £100. Parents are asked to avoid picking students up and dropping them off at peak times and not to wait in the drop-off area. We also ask that students don’t park their car along Winstanley Road as this may be of detriment to local residents.
There are designated motorcycle and moped parking spaces at the top of the car park near the sports hall. For directions to College see Contact Us.
You are encouraged to cycle to College and cycle racks are available against the sports hall wall. For directions to College see Contact Us.
Cycle Safety
Some students are fortunate enough to live within proximity to the college. A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
Walking for Health
If students are eligible for the bursary fund and also have a need to purchase an annual private transport permit, then you will qualify for the full cost of the yearly permit which will be organised by Student Services. If you don’t require a private permit then a weekly allowance will be made via BACS.
These payments will be dependent on good attendance, satisfactory academic progress and it is subject to the number of applications received and the funds being available.
You can apply at any time throughout the year depending on your circumstances.
16-19 BURSARY FUND
The 16–19 Bursary Fund is for young people from low-income households who are experiencing genuine financial hardship while they are at college. The Bursary can contribute towards the cost of the bus pass and essential course equipment.
Further enquiries regarding bursaries can be made by contacting:
bursary@winstanley.ac.uk
For information on any other transport queries, please contact:
transport@Winstanley.ac.uk
01695 633244
For students moving into Upper Sixth, renewing your private coach pass for September 2025 is essential. In April/May of your Lower Sixth year, we will contact your parent/carer to invite them to reserve a seat for the next academic year via a Microsoft Form. This form must be completed, even if a bursary application is planned. Seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to current students before any remaining seats are offered to new Lower Sixth students. Once all seats are allocated, no additional coaches will be provided.
We will also invite all other students moving into Upper Sixth to secure a seat on a coach at the same time – this may help those who no longer wish to travel by train or other alternatives or weren’t able to secure a seat last year.
The form will present two payment options:
- £100 upfront payment via ParentPay (required to print your pass before summer). Our Finance Team will then arrange a direct debit for the remaining balance.
- Full payment upfront via ParentPay.
We aim to issue passes before the Lower Sixth year finishes, so payments must be completed promptly. Temporary passes will be issued for those awaiting bursary outcomes, and Finance will send bursary continuation forms over the summer. Please note: coach companies will check passes on the first day of term, and students without the correct pass will not be allowed to travel.
We will remind you of any upcoming deadlines, but the responsibility lies with you to reserve your seat and complete payment or indicate bursary plans.
For any queries relating to this, please email Transport@Winstanley.ac.uk
