School children on the Isle of Wight will be able to start their summer term by walking to school, thanks to £5,000 of new grants being awarded to several primary schools across the Island.

Locally, the “Walk to School” scheme will provide grants of £1,000 a year for up to three years to All Saints CE Primary and Shanklin CE Primary schools who want to set up a walking bus.   A smaller grant of £500 is being given to Nine Acres Primary, Carisbrooke CE Primary, Brighstone C. E. Primary, Yarmouth Primary, St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary and Newport CE Primary schools who set up “Walk on Wednesdays” as an alternative walking initiative.

The grants will form part of the Government’s “Travelling to School” project which aims to reduce car use for journeys to school and most of the new walking buses are expected to start during the summer term.

In the South East 629 schools are set to benefit from the £496.500 “walking to school” grant which was launched by Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Douglas Alexander in November last year.  The scheme gives money for walking buses and other walking initiatives in primary schools, and already, this is expected to see the number of walking buses across the country triple.

Nationally, over 3000 primary schools will receive walking to school grants, that’s more than one in six across the country.  The more children walk to school, the more they keep fit and healthy, the greater the benefits in cutting congestion and pollution around their schools.  It’s also good news for helping to tackle climate change.
Related Information:
Department for Transport

Island Pulse