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Bike to School Week takes place April 23rd-27th. Sustrans has created a three-page PDF – called Pedal Pack – to help parents and teachers to organise cycle to school events.
Paul Osborne, Sustrans’ school travel director, said: "New research shows that just 15 minutes exercise a day can halve a child’s risk of becoming obese – cycling to school can be a great way of building exercise into children’s daily routine. And with 20 percent of traffic at 8.50 on a school day morning coming from the school run, it will also help to ease congestion at the school gate. Plus we know that children who cycle to school arrive more alert and ready to learn.
"We know that although only 1 percent of children currently cycle to school in the UK, 31 percent would like to. Events, like those described in the pack, have been tried and tested with hundreds of pupils and parents at our Bike It schools and we hope that this new information resource, launched in time for Bike to School Week, will help parents and teachers to make it possible for more children to cycle to school."
The PDF recommends schools get in touch with local cycle retailers:
"It’s good to invite staff from your local bike shop to the event. They could provide useful advice on all manner of things and are often able to run ‘Dr. Bike’ sessions to help teach pupils how to look after their wheels."
