A Stoke-on-Trent secondary school will give all its new year seven pupils a bike to encourage them to start cycling to school.
All 60 year seven students from Berryhill High School will receive their new bike when they return to school, and take part in a week long programme of cycling activities organised by CycleStoke.
The aim of the project is to encourage more students to take up cycling to school, promote a healthy form of travel and to become more independently mobile.
The project will allow school children to take part in a number of cycle related activities including cycle maintenance classes, cyclist training and cycle rides and an extreme mountain bike show. Events will take place between Monday September 13 and Friday September 17.
Councillor Debra Gratton, cabinet member for children and young peoples services, said: “This is a unique idea and opportunity to encourage an entire year group to take up cycling to school. Cycling is a fantastic way to keep fit and by making young people in the city mobile. It’s great that Berry Hill High School have been able to link into CycleStoke who have created a superb platform within the city to encourage people of all ages to take up cycling.”
Berry Hill High School head teacher, Mark Ranford, added: “We have had plans in place for some time now to encourage our students to become more independently mobile and to promote a healthy form of travel to school. With the help of CycleStoke we hope to see more and more children cycling to school over the coming year.”
To support the project, the school will also have cycle parking facilities installed for up to 80 bikes also funded through CycleStoke.