Pupils at a Newcastle school are embracing pedal power thanks to a project designed to promote active travel and physical activity.
The pupils, from Sir Charles Parsons School, have been enjoying weekly cycle training sessions as part of the Active Journeys to School pilot programme, an initiative to increase the number of local journeys being walked, wheeled or cycled.
The programme is a pilot scheme jointly run by Newcastle City Council’s transport and public health teams, funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, along with Rise, a charity which helps people improve their health and wellbeing through movement.
The scheme is aimed at supporting students to be more active, benefiting both their physical and mental health and for some of the students, opening up opportunities for independent travel to school.
At Sir Charles Parsons School, students have a range of additional needs so the pilot has called on the expertise of North East charity Smile Through Sport, which provides specialist support and opportunities for people with special educational needs and disabilities to enjoy sport.
They’ve held weekly accessible bike sessions, with adapted bikes, designed to ensure the pupils can get involved and enjoy the benefits of cycling.
As well as taking part in cycle training, they’ve also been learning basic bike maintenance skills with Diverse Cycling.
Cllr Owen Burbidge, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy and Skills at Newcastle City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see pupils at Sir Charles Parsons School enjoying these accessible cycling sessions.
“The Active Journeys to School pilot is about promoting active travel and its health benefits by providing opportunities for pupils to get involved and try new activities.
“The main focus has been on inclusivity, accessibility and providing tailored support to enable pupils with additional needs to improve their skills and develop their confidence, which in turn helps to reduce health and social inequalities.”
Gary Young, Infrastructure and Environment Development Manager at Rise, said: “The accessible cycling sessions at Sir Charles Parsons School are a key milestone in the improvement of the inclusive cycling network offer across the North East.
“With the help of an Accessible Cycling Conference in September, we’d like to see the programme extended not just across Newcastle, but throughout the wider region.”
Alison Butterfield, Higher Level Teaching Assistant at Sir Charles Parsons School, said: “The young people at our school have really welcomed the opportunities to be more active.
“The cycling sessions have gone down really well and we’ve seen young people make huge progress.
“We have pupils who can ride a bike now who have never cycled before and others who have developed to being able to ride independently now. It’s a massive achievement for them and they’ve really enjoyed it.”
And the pupils haven’t stopped at just improving their cycling skills and confidence.
Earlier this year a team of pupils represented the school at a Modeshift Active Travel Ambassadors event, where they successfully pitched their idea for a school walking group to a panel of active travel experts.
They were awarded £250 to help set up their group and the whole school will come together later this term to officially launch their new walking group, called The Parsons Pathfinders.