347 schools to get awards for boosting levels of active travel

In 2015, 347 schools have achieved Modeshift STARS accreditation in recognition of their efforts to encourage their pupils to travel to school in greener and healthier ways. The STARS scheme recognises schools that have demonstrated excellence in supporting cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable travel.

After receiving funding from the Bicycle Association to become the National School Travel Awards scheme in November 2014, the Modeshift STARS scheme has expanded to include 52 local authorities and more than 11,000 schools nationally.

Speaking of the scheme, Jonathan Green, Head Teacher at Modeshift STARS Gold school, Archbishop of York’s CofE Junior School in York, said:

“Modeshift STARS has brought our whole school community together. It is a brilliant scheme that has encouraged us to really look positively at how we travel to school and how we can take responsibility for our village.”

Neil Hunt, Head Teacher at Ladycross Infant School in Derbyshire, added:

“We have used the scheme as part of a wider ethos of being active and healthy as part of daily life. Modeshift STARS has really helped us focus on short term goals and embedding longer term changes in travelling sustainably as a whole school community. It’s a wonderfully simple scheme, but so effective.”

During October, STARS Regional Awards events will take place across the country at which schools will be recognised and rewarded for their commitment to the scheme. Awards will be distributed to schools of excellence in promoting walking and cycling and other forms of sustainable transport, whilst STARS Schools of the Region will be identified who will be pitted against one another to become the National STARS School of the Year.

The Bicycle Association’s Bike Hub levy fund provided £10,000 to help fund the scheme.

Ross Butcher, Chair of Modeshift, the scheme coordinator, said:

“Modeshift STARS presents a huge opportunity for us to collectively increase the number of children and young people that get more active on the journey to school. In a time of tight budgets and the government’s spending review just weeks away, it is vital that we recognise the efforts of our schools in making our communities happier, healthier places to live.”

He added: “In recent years, levels of walking and cycling to school have been in decline but it is not too late to turn things around. As our STARS schools have shown, by being creative and adopting a whole-school approach, we can increase levels of walking and cycling amongst young people bringing with it huge benefits in terms of reducing carbon emissions, fewer cars on the road and more active communities”.