In a national competition, 3 local primary schools ranked among the country’s best for the number of children walking, cycling, scooting or wheeling to and from school.
The Big Walk and Wheel is an annual competition organised by active travel charity Sustrans, to encourage families to think about their health and the environment when they decide how to make their journeys. More than 2,700 schools took part – including 12 from our borough.
Of those, 3 of them made it into the nation’s top 50 schools, and London’s top 20:
- Tudor Primary School, Southall (29th place)
- Mayfield Primary School, Hanwell (31st place)
- Oaklands Primary School, Hanwell (39th place)
You can see the borough’s leader board on the Sustrans website. Between the 12 local schools that took part, their pupils made 36,770 journeys on foot, or by bike, scooter or wheelchair.
Tudor Primary School headteacher Jas Kalra said: “I’m immensely proud of our children, parents, and staff for their outstanding effort in The Big Walk and Wheel competition. This achievement reflects the strength of our school community and our shared commitment to promoting healthy, sustainable travel.”
Inspiring the next generation
All 3 schools have previously achieved the Travel for Life Gold award, a Transport for London accreditation measuring how successful schools are at reducing car use and increasing sustainable travel.
Ealing Council supports the borough’s schools to achieve these accreditations with initiatives like school streets, making it safer for pupils and the wider school community to travel to school on foot or by bike, scooter or wheelchair. Council staff also run workshops to educate children on road safety and the health, wellbeing and environmental benefits of active and sustainable travel.
Councillor Paul Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “It’s great to see 3 of our schools achieving top 50 in a national competition – it’s a huge achievement.
“This competition, the Travel for Life accreditation and the council’s school travel initiatives are clear examples of how we’re taking on the climate crisis and ensuring the next generation make better choices for themselves and the planet.
“I hope our borough can continue to help lead the way in reducing school-related car use, and ensuring our children and young people build healthy, happy and sustainable habits for the future.”
You can find out more about the council’s school travel work on the council’s website.
