Local school children WOW Cambridge MP

Pupils at St Luke’s Primary School in Cambridge are walking to school for International Walk to School Month this October, and have invited their local MP to join them on the morning journey. They will also be joined by Living Streets, the UK charity behind the walk to school campaign, and their mascot, Strider.

Pupils will share with Daniel Zeichner MP the benefits they’ve experienced whilst walking to school – from feeling healthier and catching up with friends to reducing the number of cars outside the school gates.

For International Walk to School Month, Living Streets released research (YouGov 2018) which revealed that too many cars are the things parents find most annoying on the school run – specifically too many cars around school gates; cars parking on the pavements; and too much traffic on the journey. Living Streets is calling for new measures to reduce the number of cars on the school run so more families are encouraged to walk to school.

Daniel Zeichner MP said: “There are clear benefits on offer for children when they walk to school. It’s a chance for them to move more and get some exercise – great for their physical and mental health. At the same time, the local community benefits from less congestion, improved air quality and safer streets. I’m looking forward to meeting with pupils at St Luke’s Primary School to find out about their walk to school. I’m sure they’ll inspire even more families to follow in their footsteps this International Walk to School Month – and beyond."

St Luke’s Primary School also takes part in WOW – the year-round walk to school challenge from Living Streets. WOW rewards children who walk to school at least once a week with collectable badges and has been shown to increase walk to school rates by 23 per cent, with a corresponding drop in cars around the school gates. Living Streets is calling for more local authorities to introduce measures which make it easier for pupils to walk to school, including successful schemes like WOW, 20mph limits and school street closure pilots.

Joe Irvin, Chief Executive, Living Streets, said: "Motor vehicles are the biggest source of roadside air pollution and one in four cars on the road at peak times are on the school run. Put simply - more children walking to school means fewer cars on our roads. We need to see many more measures which make it possible for families to walk to school: lower speed limits, better crossings, constraints on pavement parking.

“I’m delighted Daniel Zeichner MP will join us to see how important the walk to school is, and why we need to prioritise making it safer and easier for families.”