Edinburgh’s pupils head back to school next week after the long (too long, say some harassed parents!) summer holidays. The chances are the children will have their brand new uniform, pencil-cases and gym stuff … but pupils at Ferryhill will have one extra item to remember – a snorkel!
Pupils at the Drylaw primary school are taking part in an exciting new ‘Active Routes to School’ pilot organised by the city council – and part of their daily routine will be a swim on the way to school!
The city council’s Education vice-convener Alison Dickie – herself a former teacher at Ferryhill School – explained: “We have been encouraging parents and carers to avoid taking their children to school by car, but the uptake in alternatives like walking and cycling has been disappointing.
“”We know that children love to swim, so we thought that introducing a ‘natural fairy pool’ water feature to streets in Drylaw would encourage the children to take a dip before and after school. Everyone knows swimming is very good for your health and of course it’s great fun too!
“Using the latest Edinburgh People Survey results we were able to ascertain that no less than 103.5% of people in Drylaw favoured the free scheme – and only 02.35 were against. You can’t argue with wtatistics like that, so we are now planning to ‘dive in’!
“We believe this is a first for Scotland and once again Edinburgh’s Capital Coalition leads the way!”
Trials took place at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre earlier this year (above) and they were such a success that the pilot will be introduced at the start of the new term. The first public ‘pool’ opens on Easter Drylaw Avenue next week.
The Scottish Government fully supports the initiative. A spokesperson said: “Public health is our number one priority. Especially tackling obesity. So is education, that’s our number one priority, too, so this scheme really ticks all the boxes. An added bonus is that it costs us nothing so we are delighted to pass these savings on to our stakeholders, who are our top priority.”
While there may be some inconvenience for local residents, it’s believed that the benefits of ‘Swim to School’ far outweigh the disadvantages. There are some benefits for local businesses too.
A spokesperson for Farmer Autocare said: “Business has been booming over recent years with the damage potholes have been doing to cars on the city’s roads. Drivers will know to their cost just how expensive suspension repairs can be!
“Closing some roads may cause a slight ‘dip’ in profits – excuse the pun! – but the waterlogged roads could provide us with new business when cars’ electrical systems pack in. That can be a very expensive repair, too so, all in all, while it’s misery for the motorists it’s a win, win for us! Happy sailing!”
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain for much of the UK, including most of Scotland. It is in place until midnight tonight, and follows localised flooding after heavy rain on Wednesday.
