Parents of children across Hampshire will be leaving the car at home as part of this year’s Walk to School Week (20-24 May), with 352 schools signed up to take part covering approximately 94,000 pupils

To help school children put their best foot forward, a special campaign poster has been designed by 11-year-old Charlotte Aston, a pupil at St. Luke’s Primary School, Sway, encouraging everyone taking part to ‘Stop, Look, Listen and Think’.

Councillor Nick Adams-King, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Lead for Universal Services, said: “The longer, brighter summer days provide an added incentive to walk, cycle or scoot to school more often. It’s been proven that getting to school in this way helps children to arrive in the classroom alert and ready to learn. It delivers obvious health and wellbeing benefits, not just for young people but for the whole family and gives everyone the opportunity to practice safety skills together. This important message has been perfectly captured in the wonderful poster designed by Charlotte. Taking cars off the road during the school run is also positive for our environment and helps to reduce congestion during peak hours. The County Council works with schools all year around to equip young people with active travel skills including bike training and the development of school travel plans.”

As part of Walk to School Week, families are encouraged park and walk the rest of the way to school, this is called park and stride, or walk, scoot and cycle a little further than they would usually.

53 Hampshire nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups and childminders have signed up to Walk with Wheels Week, which runs at the same time as Walk to School Week. This could see around 2,781 pre-school children also taking part. The aims are broadly similar, encouraging younger children and their families to try walking, wheeling, cycling or scooting to school, even if just for part of the journey, and afterwards choosing to travel actively to school more often.

PIC-HAMPSHIRE CC