Thousands of children at primary schools across Brighton and Hove are expected to take part in Walk to School Week from Monday (16 May).
Fifty one schools with more than 15,000 children will be taking to the streets to walk to school, according to Brighton and Hove City Council.
Walking to school is growing in popularity in the city, according to the National Travel Survey, carried out as part of the annual school census.
The survey found that the percentage of primary-age children walking to school in Brighton and Hove had increased from 51 per cent in 2006-07 to 61 per cent in 2009-10 – a rise of 10 per cent in three years.
This compared with national figures of 52 per cent of primary-age children walking to school in 2006-07 and 50 per cent walking in 2009-10.
Next week children at Downs Junior School will be getting out their cameras to record the things they see to and from school as part of a photo competition.
The winner will have their photograph published on the front cover of the school’s travel plan and there will be prizes for the top three.
Golden boot
The school will also be awarding a “golden boot” to the class that walks the most during the week.
Windlesham School in Dyke Road will have a walking crocodile from Hove Park to the school.
Between 70 and 100 children are expected to take part every day during Walk to School Week.
St Margaret’s Primary School pupils and parents will also be walking together during the week.
On Friday 20 May, all the staff and pupils from St Mary Magdalen Primary School in Spring Street, Brighton, are gearing up to walk to school with some staff, including headteacher Halden Eady, walking in from Newhaven.
Teacher Andie Wilson, responsible for pastoral activities at St Mary Magdalen School, said: “We see a lot of benefits. As well as being healthy, it helps reduce the number of cars on the road which is a big advantage for us as our school is in the city centre.”
Brighton and Hove City Council has a “safer routes to school” initiative that provides road safety measures around schools to make routes safer for families to walk and cycle.
Schools in the scheme are identified by analysing collision data from across the city.
Twenty-six schools have benefited from improvements since the scheme began in 1998, most recently at Carlton Hill and Queen’s Park Primary, Tarnerland and Royal Spa nursery schools.
