Tag: WOW

WOW! Scottish pupils start off the new school year on the right foot

Pupils in Scotland are starting off the new school year on the right foot by leaving the car at home for the school run and instead walking, wheeling, cycling or scooting to school.  

Over 280 primary schools in Scotland are taking part in WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking.  

Pupils at St Brendan’s Primary School in Glasgow launched a new year of WOW yesterday with a celebration event where they were joined by Strider, Living Streets’ mascot.  

WOW rewards children who walk to school at least once a week with a collectable badge each month, with ten to collect across the academic year. 

WOW schools see on average a 13 per cent increase in pupils walking to school in Scotland with a corresponding drop in car use, helping to reduce congestion and increase safety outside the school gates. 

Stuart Hay, Director, Living Streets Scotland, said: “WOW is simple to run and pupils love to take part. Just a few minutes of a teacher’s day is all it takes to make a big difference. 

“We see a lot of dedication and enthusiasm from pupils and staff across Scotland and are thrilled that so many schools are taking part. We’re looking forward to families getting on their feet this year and experiencing the many benefits walking to school can bring to our health and happiness.” 

Mrs Gemma Rutherford, Headteacher, St Brendan’s Primary School, Glasgow said: “St Brendan’s is proud to host the launch of the Walk to School programme.

“Our pupils have been using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker for years now and they love having the opportunity to log their journeys each morning as they arrive at school in a fun, engaging and easy way.” 

Living Streets is being supported this year by children television presenter, Dr Ronx, who has joined the charity as the celebrity ambassador for WOW – the walk to school challenge.

The CBBC presenter and emergency doctor will promote WOW and the health benefits of walking to school for the 2022-23 academic year. 

Dr Ronx said: “I’m thrilled to be the new ambassador for WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets.

“With notable increases in air pollution, rising childhood inactivity and post-lockdown poor mental health, encouraging children to be more active and ditching school run drives for more sustainable modes of transport is imperative.” 

Record investment for active travel in Scotland

The Scottish Government announced record investment in active travel for 2022-23 yesterday. This includes new funding for footpaths, significantly increased funding for local authorities and more than doubling the funding to the National Cycle Network.  

Living Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking will receive £555k in 2022/23. The Transport Scotland funding will see the charity work with over 450 schools to run its walk to school programme, which successfully increases walking rates and decreases congestion levels.

It will also allow work to continue on ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’, to ensure local facilities are within a safe and pleasant walking distance.  

Commenting on Thursday’s announcement from Patrick Harvie MSP in the Scottish Parliament, Stuart Hay, Director Living Streets Scotland said:  “Today is an important milestone in helping to turn Scotland into a more active, healthy and sustainable nation. We are pleased steps are being made to give walking, wheeling and cycling a reasonable share of transport budgets.  

“We are thrilled to receive additional support to grow our work in Scotland, including plans to reach over 450 primary schools, high schools and nurseries. These projects will aim to boost walking to school and reduce car journeys by 10%. 

“With extra resources we hope to work in every Scottish local authority area on programmes such WOW – our walk to school challenge and Walk to School Week. These projects will contribute towards Scotland’s ambitious national targets to reduce road traffic by 20%. Nowhere is this needed more than outside schools. 

“We look forward to working with other partners including Cycling Scotland, Sustrans Scotland and Paths for all to address the very real challenges of creating good walking environments at a local level.” 

WOW! Living Streets launches nationwide badge design competition

Pupils in Aberdeen were joined by special guests on Monday to celebrate the strides they have been making to get more active on the school run and to launch the search for the UK’s best young designers.

Cllr Malik, the Education Convener joined pupils from St Joseph’s Catholic RC Primary School in Aberdeen to hear first-hand the benefits they have experienced from walking to school.

St Joseph’s RC Primary School takes part in WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking.

WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker. Pupils who walk, wheel, cycle or scoot at least once a week for a month are rewarded with a badge.

Cllr Malik joined Living Streets’ mascot, Strider, to hand out WOW badges to pupils who had travelled actively this month.

Councillor M Tauqeer Malik, Aberdeen City Council’s Education Operational Delivery Convener, said: “It is wonderful to be here today to celebrate the great work that the St Joseph’s pupils and staff are doing in partnership with Living Streets and which really ties in with our priorities as a Council.

“The health and wellbeing of our children and young people is at the heart of everything we do as can be seen from our progress towards becoming a Unicef -recognised Child Friendly City and last year’s unprecedented Summer of Play which saw us provide over 15000 free bookable activity sessions as we celebrated coming out of lockdown.  

“Congratulations to everyone involved in making St Joseph’s an even healthier and happier school”.

The school event also marked the launch of Living Streets’ WOW Badge Design Competition 2022. The charity is on the hunt for the UK’s best young designers and is asking children to design the 11 badges to be awarded to pupils next academic year. This year’s theme is ‘Walk Through Time’.

Chris Thompson, School Manager, Living Streets Scotland said: “From Aberdeen to Aberystwyth, the hunt is on for the UK’s best young designers. Winners will have the pride of seeing their creations worn by pupils across Scotland, England and Wales.

“We’re encouraging pupils to stretch their imaginations and depict something from the past that they find really interesting and inspiring. This is an opportunity for originality and diversity to shine.”

To find out more about the WOW Badge Design Competition and how to enter, visit: livingstreets.org.uk/badgecomp2022