Skircoat schools join forces to improve road safety
Pupils of Holy Trinity Primary School and St Mary’s Catholic Academy in Skircoat, Calderdale came together with Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, to relaunch their School Street.
Pupils gathered on Swires Road which runs between the two schools to perform a special song to celebrate the start of School Street Week and were joined by Strider, the Living Streets mascot.
From Monday 9 June until Friday 13 June, Swires Road was closed to traffic during morning and afternoon drop-offs in a bid to create a safer environment for pupils to walk, wheel, scoot and cycle to school.
As part of School Street Week, pupils have set daily challenges including Mindful Monday, where pupils are encouraged to reflect on their journeys to school and Funny Friday, a day for pupils to share their best jokes or show off their silliest walks!
The schools have partnered with neighbouring Arden Road Social Club, who have offered their car park as a ‘Park and Stride’ location. This enables families that need to drive to school to park at a safe distance from the school and walk the final 10 minutes of the journey to school, so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of an active start to the day.
Aadhya, a 10-year-old pupil at St Mary’s Catholic Academy said:
“[Our School Street] makes sure kids are not bombarded with unclean air. Kids can play when coming to school and focus in school, and it means pupils can walk home by themselves more safely.”
Jessie Davidson, Regional Team Leader, Living Streets said:
“School Streets reclaim the streets for families by making it easier and safer to walk and wheel to school. It’s wonderful to see the support for this initiative in Skircoat, including from school staff.
“By reducing car use, we see healthier, happier children who benefit from daily exercise and greater independence. There is also less congestion, so road safety improves, and the air is cleaner for everyone.”
Both schools take part in WOW – the walk to school challenge. This pupil-led initiative from Living Streets encourages students to log their active journeys to school using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker. Pupils who walk, wheel, cycle, scoot, or ‘Park and Stride’ to school once a week for a month are rewarded with a special collectible badge.
Since starting WOW last year, Holy Trinity Primary School has increased walking rates by nine percentage points and reduced the number of car journeys all the way to school by 31 percentage points.
About the author
Rowan Dent
PR and Media Coordinator, Living Streets / [email protected]