SUSTRAN January 2018 Newsletter

Alice Swift Sustrans Schools Officer January 2018 Newsletter I’d love to hear from you...

I’m Alice Swift, Sustrans’ schools officer for Greater Manchester. Please get in touch if you have any great school stories or would like to find out more about our schools work.

Mob: 07917 202 767 Email: alice.swift@sustrans.org.uk Twitter: @sustransNW

Upcoming events: The Big Pedal 23 April—4 May 2018 www.bigpedal.org.uk Women on Wheels March 2018

Have you seen this?

“Fighting for Air” - catch it on BBC iplayer for the next 10 days

Pupil locking up his bike in one of the school’s brand new shelters

West Hill unveils new cycle shelters New cycling facilities at West Hill School in Stalybridge were officially opened at a special celebration event in November. Last year, we never saw more than 8 bikes on site. So imagine our surprise and delight when over 70 pupils cycled to school on a chilly winter morning, completely filling the two new shelters! Dr Bike was on hand to give free bike checks and Greater Manchester police was offering free bike security marking. Any pupil arriving on 2 wheels was also entered into a raffle for cycling-related prizes.

Read what Sustrans’ Dr Andy Cope has to say about air quality in the UK and how we can make a difference

Paul Butterworth, Assistant Head, said: “We’ve already seen the number of pupils that cycle to school double since the arrival of the facilities and we hope that this uptake continues to grow.”

This term in numbers

“It’s said that cycling helps to improve your concentration, health, happiness and fitness. What more could we want for our students and community than this opportunity which has been made possible through the Cycle Schools and Colleges project?”

40 pupils have completed Bikeability Level 3 training 8 teenagers and adults have learned to ride a bike for the first time

“I’m also looking forward to seeing the new opportunities from the training we’ve received, which will help our members of staff to teach pupils new skills and further encourage them to get out on their bikes.”

62 separate active-travel related acitivities were delivered in the 10 TfGM partner schools and colleges

Sustrans is the charity that’s enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys we make every day. It’s time we all began making smarter travel choices. Make your move and support Sustrans today. www.sustrans.org.uk © Sustrans 2016. Registered Charity No. 326550 (England and Wales) SCO39263 (Scotland)

Cheadle Hulme High School on the right track…

Big Street Survey: could your school get involved?

Pupils from Cheadle Hulme High School were rewarded for their success in The Big Pedal with a trip to the National Cycling Centre.

During the 10-day challenge last March, CHHS more than doubled the number of pupils that regularly cycle to school to finish 7th overall in the secondary school category.

The pupils, who pedalled through rain and even snow to help their school to victory in Greater Manchester were delighted to be rewarded with a taster session at the velodrome. None of them had ever cycled on the track before, but within an hour were confidently whizzing round the world-class facility that is home to Team GB. Hopefully the trip has opened their eyes to new places they can visit by bike and will inspire them to keep pedalling!

Pupils map their journeys to school

The Big Street survey, an exciting free curriculum resource developed by a Sustrans schools officer and qualified Geography teacher, is enabling pupils to have a say in how to make their streets safer and greener.

Pupils from the school council at West Hill school in Stalybridge teamed up with experts from the TfGM cycling team and Tameside Council to discuss ways in which the roads outside their school gate can be made more pedestrian and cycle-friendly.

Pupils from Cheadle Hulme High School after their “taster session” on the velodrome track

Pupils put their best wheel forward Year 7 pupils from Chorlton High School braved the arctic conditions —most of them without gloves! - to complete their level 3 Bikeability training.

After mapping their journeys to school and talking about the daily challenges they face, they measured traffic speeds in front of the school and rode as a group through the park adjacent to the school, highlighting possible hazards for cyclists and suggesting improvements that would make the route more accessible.

Sustainable transport officer for Tameside Council, Michael Hughes, attended the sessions to answer pupils’ questions and give them an insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes to improve our streets. He will take the pupils’ ideas back to colleagues as they fine-tune their designs.

Over 2 days, Bikeright put them through their paces tackling busy roads, traffic lights and other advanced road features that can make the daily commute by bike a challenge.

By the end of the course, pupils were brimming with confidence about cycling safely on the roads and glowing with enthusiasm —so much so, that Bikeright will be coming back to deliver more Bikeability later in the year!

Have a look at Sustrans’ free online resources to see how your school could take part and get in touch with me to book a slot with your school council!

Bike security marking—stop that thief!

In the UK a bike is stolen every minute and less than 5% of those are returned to their owners. Figures for bike thefts in Manchester are DOUBLE the national average so it’s really worth doing all you can to make it as difficult as possible for potential thieves. Lots of you have been offering free or subsidised, secure bike locks to pupils. We can get hold of these at heavily discounted prices and there is funding available to provide a certain number for each school. If you’re interested, please get in touch!

When stolen bikes are recovered, it is often difficult for police officers to trace them back to their original owners.

That’s why we strongly recommend that you REGISTER your bike. We have teamed up with GMP to offer free bike security marking sessions. Contact me to book one at your school!

… is back! The dates are set for Sustrans Big Pedal 2018, the UK’s largest interschool cycling challenge.

This year’s competition will run from 23rd April to 4th May with registration opening in January. Schools and classes compete to see who can record the greatest proportion of their pupils and staff cycling to school. As usual, there will be a fantastic array of prizes on offer.

This year’s theme is “Around the World in 10 days”, inspired by Mark Beaumont’s record-breaking trip cycling around the world in 78 days. Click here to see some of our amazing statistics from the 2017 challenge.

Details and registration at:

bigpedal.org.uk

Training opportunities Have you got new staff or volunteers that want to get involved with all things cycling at your school or college?

Did you miss one of last year’s training sessions?

Fear not, because it’s not too late to book on one of the training courses taking place over the coming months.

Have a look here to see FREE courses coming up in Greater Manchester.

Remember, there is also funding available for accredited training provided by British Cycling, Bikeright!, MIAS and other providers. If you or your colleagues are interested in getting a ride leader or mechanic’s qualification this spring please get in touch.

Sustrans is grateful for the continued support of our schools work in Greater Manchester from TfGM