Steelstown Key Stage 1 pupils getting ready for their †̃Cycle Skillsâ€TM session with Sustrans Richard Farrow on Wednesday last. Included is Miss Bronagh Lynch.Steelstown Key Stage 1 pupils getting ready for their †̃Cycle Skillsâ€TM session with Sustrans Richard Farrow on Wednesday last. Included is Miss Bronagh Lynch.
Steelstown Key Stage 1 pupils getting ready for their †̃Cycle Skillsâ€TM session with Sustrans Richard Farrow on Wednesday last. Included is Miss Bronagh Lynch.

PICTURE SPECIAL: Big success for Steelstown PS in ‘Active Schools Travel’ programme

Steelstown Primary School celebrated winning four of the seven prizes in the Sustrans North West Area’s Active School Travel Programme recently.

‘The Big Pedal’ initiative saw the schoolchildren, their parents and teachers, taking part and learning about bike safety and the importance of keeping active.

The local school celebrated their success on Wednesday last and a delighted principal, Siobhan Gillen praised the staff, pupils and parents for their hard work and dedication and continuing to raise the bar year after year.

She said: “Great credit must go to all involved in the Active Schools Travel Programme and the sterling effort has been rewarded with no less than four awards coming to Steelstown Primary School. I’m very proud of everyone who took part and a big thank you to our World Around Us/Eco Coordinator Miss Bronagh Lynch for all her help.”

The school won 10 sets of lights and bells for the ‘Best Visual’ category, and they also won the ‘Biggest Jump’ category by having the greatest percentage jump of participation from the first Tuesday to the following Tuesday. This victory saw Richard Farrow (Sustrans Active School Travel Officer) award Steelstown a pair of brand-new scooters.

Steelstown also proved their creative writing skills with success in the ‘How does it feel?’ creative writing challenge. Students from both KS1 and KS2, wrote about how they felt when they walk, cycle or scoot to school. The school were awarded an set of cycle themed books for the school library. Added to this, Steelstown were given a bike storage unit with locks for reaching out and spreading our news of Active Travel to the local press.

Stressing the importance of keeping active, co-ordinator Miss Bronagh Lynch said: “Our pupils, parents and staff really embraced ‘The Big Pedal’ initiative and the children enjoyed taking part and learning about bike safety and the importance of keeping active.”

Sustrans Richard Farrow said Steelstown were very deserving of their prizes and praised the school’s creativity. “Steelstown are a consistently enthusiastic school in the Active School Travel Programme and they really took on the challenge of Sustrans ‘Big Pedal.’

“They deservedly won a number of prizes in the area competition, using their creativity and encouraging huge numbers of children to make active journeys to school.”