Getting to School

Published: 14/07/2022

We like to encourage our students where possible to walk or cycle to school. There are many health and environmental benefits attached to walking and cycling. Please use the links below for more information.

We would like all parents/carers to help us to keep our students safe by parking well away from the school and being mindful of our neighbours at the start and end of each day.

A Walk to School poster, created by Twinkl

Poster by Twinkl

Walking

We encourage our students where possible to walk to school. There are many benefits to walking, some of which are detailed below.

The Pedestrians’ Association identifies the following good reasons for parents/carers to walk to school with their children:

Healthy: it’s a good way to keep fit
Non-polluting: by leaving your car at home you can help reduce the harmful gases that are putting the world and your child at risk
Friendly: time to talk to your children, shopkeepers and neighbours
Less stressful: walking is less hassle than driving
A chance to teach and learn road skills: your children experience the world outside before they go off alone
Considerate: every car less outside schools makes it safer for other children
Educational: you see and hear much more when you walk rather than travel by car
Economical: add up what you can save in a week

Other benefits of encouraging children to walk to school include:

It can easily be integrated into the daily routine
It provides children with a positive parental role model if their parent accompanies them on the walk to school
It provides children with a chance to talk to their parents/carers, which is not easy to do in a car when parents are concentrating on traffic and getting stressed finding a parking space
It can help children to relax and wind down after school
It will help to establish the habit of walking for short journeys rather than using the car – the average length of trip for the school journey is 1.2 miles
It is an activity which is accessible to the majority of people – it is cheap, requires no expensive equipment or specialised facilities (apart from safe routes), and is manageable
It can promote neighbourliness and social interaction – children will see their local environment, meet and get to know local people, and have a chance to chat to friends
Action taken to make routes safe for children to walk to school will be beneficial for the whole community
If large numbers are encouraged to walk it can help to make streets safer

For further information please visit the following websites:

Cycling

We encourage Whalley Range 11-18 High students to cycle to and from school. For more information about the benefits of cycling and how to ride safely, please visit the Transport for Greater Manchester website.

All students should ensure their bike is roadworthy and that they are wearing suitable safety accessories and helmet.

Students should always follow The Highway Code.

We have cycle sheds available for students to store their bicycles in and these are locked during the school day. Students must ensure that they secure their own bicycles with a suitable bike lock and should not leave any valuables in or around their bicycles.

Further Support:

Some students may eligible to receive a cycle voucher to be used towards the cost of a bicycle. For more information please visit the Manchester City Council’s Apply for a secondary school cycle voucher page.