Education: Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood joins pupils on the school run

Mr Eastwood visited Boothroyd Primary Academy and St Paulinus Catholic Primary School, both of which take part in WOW – the walk to school challenge from charity Living Streets - on Friday, January 20.

WOW involves pupils recording how they get to school using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker with those who walk, wheel, cycle, scoot or ‘park and stride’ to school being awarded a monthly WOW badge.

Nationally, 43 per cent of five to 10 year-olds are driven to school. However, since starting WOW, the number of pupils walking to school at Boothroyd Primary Academy has increased by almost 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, journeys on foot at St Paulinus Catholic Primary School have increased by almost 15 per cent.

Mr Eastwood said: “It was a real pleasure to visit Boothroyd Primary Academy and St Paulinus Catholic Primary School and learn more about how pupils and their families travel to school.

“It’s great to see how the schools have been working with Living Streets to create an active travel plan and a safe route to school for children and their families.

“Walking and wheeling is good for our health and it’s good for our local environment too. I hope this inspires other families to leave the car at home and walk to school.”

Stephen Edwards, chief executive of Living Streets said: “We are so pleased that Mark Eastwood MP could visit pupils at these two schools and celebrate their incredible efforts to get more active on the journey to school.

“Walking to school helps children meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day needed to stay fit, healthy and happy. It provides the perfect opportunity for families to spend time together and can also save money on transport costs and reduce carbon emissions from motor vehicles.”

On average WOW schools see a 30 per cent reduction in car journeys taken to the school gates and a 23 per cent increase in walking rates.

There are 90 schools running the WOW programme in West Yorkshire.

For more information, visit https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/products-and-services/projects/wow