ON YOUR BIKE!
With the current emphasis on eco transport and encouraging young people to be more active, we were very excited to have been able to offer ‘bikeability’ training for our older Prep pupils this term.
The course is based on the government approved National Standards for Cycle Training, which teaches the necessary skills to ride safely and confidently on today's roads. So, on a crisp Saturday morning in September, eleven pupils from Years 5 and 6 donned their helmets and took to the Prep playground for Bikeability Level One training. There they learned basic bike handling skills and improved their riding confidence under the calm guidance of Adrian, our instructor. Having successfully negotiated netball posts, cones and sticky brakes, all observing correct cycling protocol, they were ready to move on to Level Two.
Had you been out and about in Warminster recently, you may have caught a flash of orange high visibility jacket as our Year 6 candidates took to the roads for real. Over the course of three Saturdays, they practised cycling amidst the weekend traffic, gaining confidence and developing skills and highway code knowledge that will make them better, safer cyclists and hopefully, in the future, more aware as drivers.
“It was so exciting to be cycling alongside cars” said one Year 6, “now I’ve got my badge my parents will let me go a bit further on my own!”
The course was so successful, with everyone qualifying for their certificates, that we hope to run it again in the summer, perhaps to include Years 7 & 8 pupils. Please register your interest with Mrs Doyle-Davidson in the Prep School.
Julia Doyle-Davidson, Prep School Secretary (and Bikeability Organiser)