A campaign to get more youngsters to use their bikes to get to and from school will take a different twist in the run up to Christmas, with hundreds expected to bling them up.
Nearly 300 pupils are expected to take part in special festive ‘Bling Your Bike’ events where children can decorate their bikes with tinsel and baubles and negotiate obstacle courses.
The events have been organised as part of the Council’s Go By Bike project to encourage more young people to take regular exercise by using their bike to get to and from school and to stay safe, fit and healthy.
More than 40 children at Marksbury Primary School are expected to take part in an elf-themed event on Friday 12th December, while around 250 children from St Martin’s Garden Primary School and Paulton Junior School will also stage activities on Wednesday 17th December and Friday 19th December respectively.
Council Cabinet Member for Transport Councillor Caroline Roberts (Lib-Dem, Newbridge) said: “We’ve made big strides towards making cycling a more attractive transport option and the ‘Bling Your Bike’ events are met with great enthusiasm by the schools involved.
“We’re delighted to be working in partnership with them to make cycling a more interesting and exciting activity for young people and, ultimately, to improve health and cut congestion on the roads in the long term.
“It’s vital to encourage young people to get more exercise and to use more sustainable methods of transport to go about their everyday activity.
“The number of children taking part reflects the increase in the number of young people cycling regularly to school. I hope schools that currently don’t take part are encouraged to do so in the future.”
The Council’s cycling development officer Jim Imeson has been working with more than 35 schools in Bath and North East Somerset to encourage more pupils to cycle and stay safe, fit and healthy.
The Marksbury Primary School’s regular Bike Buses to school have been a massive success with pupils, parents and staff as well as their trips to the Odd Down cycle circuit in Bath and school bike rides along local cycle routes such as the Two Tunnels Greenway.
Pupils from Marksbury Primary School were also out in force to support their classmate Sophie Lawrence, who was nominated to be part of the lead-out group for the Bath stage of the recent Friend’s Life Tour of Britain Cycle Race, which has created a real buzz about cycling in all of the Go By Bike schools in the area.
The Council’s Go By Bike campaign supports cycle training and classroom work on issues such as choosing safer routes, general road safety and the environment. It also complements work with parents adopting greener ways of getting their youngsters to school.
Staff, parents and teachers who are interested in promoting cycling in their school are encouraged to call Jim Imeson on 07530 263424 or email him at [email protected] for more information and advice.
