Transport Connections

at Wimbledon School of English

Transport Connections

Wimbledon has excellent transport connections. Getting into central and other parts of London is easy, and the school is only a 3 to 4-minute walk from the train station.

An Oyster Card is the easiest way to travel in London.

Trains & buses

Book your train

and bus here with the Trainline

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Airports

Gatwick Airport

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Heathrow Airport

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Stansted Airport

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Airports & Trains

London City Airport

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Luton Airport

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Southend Airport

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St.Pancras

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Oyster Card

An Oyster card is the easiest and cheapest way to travel around London. It is a plastic smartcard you can use instead of paper tickets. When passing through barriers at train and underground stations, or when getting on to a bus, you press the card against the yellow electronic Oyster card pad and it charges you for the journey.

You can use the Oyster card as a pay-as-you-go system or as an easier way to use a season ticket. For single journeys on London bus, tube, Overground and train services, Oyster is the cheapest way to travel.

You can buy the Oyster Card in advance before you arrive in London.  Click here for more information.  

 

Pay As You Go

You can add credit to your Oyster card using the ticket machines at most London train stations. Each time you travel, press on the yellow electronic Oyster pad when you pass through the barriers both in and out, and money will be taken for the journey.

This means you can travel as little or as much as you like. It's the best way to travel if you are only travelling to central London occasionally.

When you purchase an Oyster card, you must pay a non-refundable fee of £7 for the card. You can put as much money on the card as you choose.

You can add money to the card using the ticket machines at any tube or train station, at the newsagents, and by using your mobile phone or the internet.

 

Travelcards

You can add Travelcards to your Oyster card rather than buying them as individual paper tickets. There are various Travelcards you can purchase.

The London transport network is divided by zones. Zone 1 covers Central London, and the zones progress outward as rings around it. You can view a map of the Zones here. Wimbledon is within Zone 3. A Zones 1 to 3 Travelcard will cover you to travel between Wimbledon and Central London.

If you travel beyond the zones covered by your Travelcard, you will be charged an extension fare which will be deducted from your Oyster pay as you go balance. Your Oyster card will know when to switch between your Travelcard and pay as you go balance.

 

Student Oyster Photocard

If you are studying here for 14 weeks or more, you can apply for a student Oyster card. With it, you can buy all weekly and monthly travelcards and bus passes at a 30% discount.

You can apply and pay online before you travel to the UK or when you arrive at school. You will receive the photocard through the post (to a UK address) in about ten days.

With a student Oyster photocard, you can buy a season ticket that covers the entire London transport network. 

You must be 18 or older to apply for this card. Students under 18 can apply for the 16+ Oyster photocard.

 

Bus Passes

You can buy a bus pass on your Oyster card and travel on London buses at any time, as often as you want, for the period that you buy it for. You can buy a bus pass from a newsagent or the tube/train station.

 

Applying for an Oyster Card

Students, once enrolled at the Wimbledon School of English, may apply for a student oyster card. Applications are completed online on the Transport for London (TfL) website and it is for TfL to confirm eligibility.

However, the main rules of eligibility are that a student must live at a London address during term time and be in full-time education. They should be enrolled with a school that is registered on the TfL scheme (which WSE is) and on an eligible course which includes at least 15 tuition-led and/or structured learning hours a week (with attendance at scheduled classes being Monday to Friday only and not including evening classes) over a minimum of 14 weeks on the same course.

A Student Visa (ex-Tier 4) is not a requirement.

To apply, students need to:

  1. Use this link which will take you to the 18+ Student Oyster photocard application page.
  2. Enter the name of the education establishment at which they are enrolled This will prompt a drop-down list of ‘matching’ education establishments to be displayed The student then selects their establishment from the list
  3. Enter all application information (name, date of birth, address, course dates, etc)
  4. Confirm acceptance of the terms and conditions
  5. Upload a colour digital photo of yourself
  6. Pay £20 (TFL admin fee) using a debit or credit card

 

If successful TfL will notify the school of your application for approval and you will receive your photocard within 7-10 working days to the address you included on your application.

 Visit the Transport for London website for more information about Oyster cards.

Getting around

TFL Journey Planner

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Tube & Bus Maps

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WSE Map

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