Luton school children cycling miles ahead

The Big Pedal, run by Sustrans, encourages pupils to replace a journey to school in a car with one on a bike or scooter for three weeks in March.

Luton Borough Council, through Sustrans, offered prizes for schools whose pupils made the most journeys by bike or scooter.

Councillor Dave Taylor said: “All of the participating schools from Luton did a brilliant job during The Big Pedal. To make over 12,000 journeys between them shows a huge amount of commitment to the challenge.

“There are huge benefits to cycling, walking or scooting to school. It can help to save money on petrol, reduce the amount of cars on the road and can give your child an opportunity to socialise with their friends.

“I’d really encourage everyone to follow the lead of the pupils who took part in The Big Pedal and try to replace car journeys with other means of getting to school.”

Awards were given in two categories, the winning ‘Bike-It’ school, and the winning non ‘Bike-It’ school.

Cheynes Infants, a non Bike-it school, scooped the overall winner prize, while Wigmore Primary won the Bike-It schools competition.

For their great effort, both schools have won a visit from a national BMX display team during April.