September news

Kids step out in walk-to-school campaign

A campaign to get more Portsmouth primary school children walking to school gets under way this week.

Nineteen primary schools, with a total of 3,500 pupils, have signed up to the WoW (Walk Once a Week) campaign so far.

The campaign is being run by Portsmouth City Council after similar projects in London resulted in 30% more children walking to school.

WoW is a nationwide campaign to encourage pupils to walk to school all year round, boosting their health, teaching them road safety skills and cutting school-run congestion.

The schools who have already signed up will start their WoW schemes before the half-term holidays. The council is expecting more to join in later.

Each school will be given a sticker chart recording how pupils travelled to school each day, and monthly results will be sent to the council’s road safety team. Prizes of high-visibility gear will go to schools where walking has increased the most, and to pupils who have taken part the most enthusiastically.

Every London borough is now taking part in WoW and 300,000 pupils take part nationally. Results show a 30% shift to walking from other means of transport. The results of another recent survey of 28 schools running WoW for the first time show that the number of children walking to school increased by 18% and the number of children being driven to school decreased by 15% in a month.

Cllr Lynne Stagg, the council’s cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: “About half of British children don't walk to school regularly and more and more are being driven there.

“This trend is adding to the downturn in physical activity, and the increase in childhood obesity, congestion and air pollution.

“Walking to school is great for children’s health and wellbeing. It keeps our roads clearer and it is good for the environment.”

Date : 16 September 2008