Why it’s better to walk, scoot or cycle to school in Frodsham and Helsby

FAMILIES in Frodsham and Helsby have been leaving the car behind to walk, scoot or cycle to school, as part of work with the charity Sustrans and Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Children at eight schools in the area, now linked by a new traffic-free cycle way, have been taking part in a series of “active travel” activities. They also looked at how they can improve their school streets to make them safer and healthier for everyone.
This week Hornsmill Primary School joined Sustrans’ national Big Walk and Wheel challenge to walk, scoot, wheel or cycle the school run. It’s the latest activity in a series of events and classes designed to get kids in the area more active on their journeys to school.
In the past six months children at participating schools have joined “active travel breakfasts”, where those who walk, cycle or scoot to school get a free breakfast. They also had training sessions in riding bikes and scooters, and “Dr Bike” maintenance classes.
The eight schools in the programme are Helsby High School, Hillside Primary School, St Luke’s Primary School, Frodsham Primary Academy, Horn’s Mill Primary School , Frodsham CE Primary School, Alvanley and Manley Primary School and Frodsham Manor House.
Surveys of 1377 children’s travel habits in the schools last autumn showed 464 children currently travel actively. When the students were asked how they would prefer to travel to school almost half reported they would rather cycle, scoot or walk.
Cheshire West and Chester recently opened a new segregated cycle route between Netherton Hall and Helsby High School. The improvements also include speed reductions, a widened footpath on the A56 by Castle Park and a new pedestrian and cycle crossing at the school. The route finishes at Helsby High School and is used by children commuting from Frodsham to Helsby.
The school activities aim to give children more confidence to change their travel habits, find out about local walking and cycling paths, and get active on their school journeys.
At Helsby High around 20 students entered a competition to highlight the benefits of the new walking and cycle way. Pupil Toby Hall designed the winning poster, which was made into a banner for the school’s bus park gates. It highlights the health and environmental impact of the new route, which is separated from traffic.
Victoria Cross, director of sixth form at Helsby High said: ““Students used art, geography, and research skills to create an array of very informative poster designs. The winning entry cleverly used a colourful map of our area to enhance his design.
“We were pleased to get this made into a banner for our bus park gates. We felt this would remind everyone that drove here in their car that they could try this more sustainable way to travel to school.”
Teachers say the active travel programme is beginning to have an impact on the school run in the whole area, with more children coming in on foot, scooter or bicycle.
Alice Pemberton a teacher at Frodsham Academy said:” Since [Sustrans] has been in school helping children see the fun, excitement and practicality in travelling to school in different ways, we have been noticing significantly more bikes and scooters in our bike stands of a morning, due to more people deciding to ditch their cars.”
Sam Turner, Sustrans’ active travel officer for the Chester area said: “When we first came to the schools, only around a third of students walked, scooted or cycled their journeys. Many of them, particularly of primary school aged, told us they would particularly like to bike or scoot to school, so it was very exciting to see the bike racks fill up during our active travel breakfasts and to see children get more confident after our bike and scooter sessions.
“The new walking and cycleway between Frodsham and Helsby makes it easier and safer for children to keep up these habits when they get to high school as the route is right next to Helsby High School and children travel from both towns to get there.”
Pictured: Toby Hall with his winning poster