Pupils from Bradley Stoke’s Meadowbrook Primary School joined over 100,000 children across the UK taking to the streets on 10th June as part of the Giant Walk.
Organised by road safety charity Brake and sponsored by Brantano, the initiative aims to get children walking and highlights the importance of road safety in helping them lead active, healthy lives.
Schools taking part get their pupils to walk (in a crocodile of supervised kids, holding hands on safe pavements, or around the school grounds) which gives children a voice, helping them tell drivers to slow down and look out for people on foot.
Across the country, children walked a combined total of over 60,000 miles, learning about road safety and calling on drivers to ‘GO 20’ within local communities, in order to make streets safer for walking and cycling.
To coincide with the event, Brake revealed survey results that show the biggest factors stopping parents letting kids walk and cycle to school are not time or inconvenience, but the dangers of fast traffic and a lack of safe routes.
Kerry Trotman, class teacher and travel ambassador at Meadowbrook, said:
“We’re delighted to be taking part in Brake’s Giant Walk. It’s a fantastic opportunity for kids to make their voices heard and promote road safety to children, parents and local drivers. Our pupils enjoyed marching and shouting out loud about the importance of drivers slowing down in our community, so families can enjoy a healthy, fun, active lifestyle without being endangered.”
Jack Lopresti, MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, said:
“This is a fantastic way of getting children walking to school and helping them understand the importance of road safety. Walking means better health and less congestion and I am happy to support this initiative. I am also pleased that the government is taking action to boost walking by providing £1 million to encourage more children to walk to school and making it easier for councils to introduce 20mph zones.”
• For advice about encouraging children to walk or cycle to school, visit www.brake.org.uk/families
Photo: The Meadowbrook Travel Crew – Standing (with sign): George Trotman; front row (l-r): Charlie Prewett, Alex Clutterbuck, Tom Shadbolt, Beth Owen and Mackenzie Marsh.
This article originally appeared in the July 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
