More than 1,000 school pupils recently took part in a pilot initiative run by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority aimed at encouraging youngsters to be more active. 

Five primary and secondary schools including Beechen Cliff Secondary in Bath, Westfield Primary in Radstock, Cathedral Primary in Bristol, Emersons Green Primary in South Gloucestershire and St Andrew’s Church School in Bath successfully ran activities with the aim of getting pupils to walk, cycle or wheel more. 

The activities saw pupils getting creative and drawing obstacle courses on pavements with colourful chalk on their way into school, or winning fun freebies like pencils and rubbers when they walked in on specific days. All of the materials needed to run these fun activities are now available to download from this website for free. 

Chalkstacle Course

Using a pack of chalk and a sheet of suggested designs, pupils can create their own fun ‘obstacle course’ on the walk to school such as ’follow the squiggly line‘.

Download the info pack (PDF)

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Walk to School week

Pupils are encouraged to walk on set days, with the incentive of a small reward – specially branded stationery items including pencils, stickers and erasers with motivational motifs such as ’We move more on Mondays‘.

Download the info pack (PDF)

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Walking Bus

This activity takes the established walking bus concept to another level, using fun props and accessories such as a ‘walking bus pass’ to make the experience more engaging.

Download the info pack (PDF)

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Walk and Talk

Benefitting both mental and physical health, students walk in pairs or small groups, using prompt cards to stimulate conversation about what’s on their minds in an informal, peer-to-peer environment.

Download the info pack (PDF)

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The initiatives were made possible thanks to funding from Active Travel England and designed in collaboration between the Mayoral Combined Authority and Copy & TV, an established consultancy specialising in the use of behavioural science.