Scottish pupils striding into the new school year with WOW
Pupils at Mill of Mains Primary School in Dundee have started the new academic year on the right foot by leaving the car at home and instead walking, wheeling, cycling or scooting to school.
Pupils were joined by Councillors Steven Rome (North East Ward) and Willie Sawers (Depute Leader of Dundee City Council) at a celebration event today (3 September 2024) to launch a new year of WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets Scotland.
Over 150 primary schools in Scotland take part in WOW, which sees pupils record their journey to school on the interactive WOW Travel Tracker and rewards those who walk, wheel, cycle, scoot or ‘Park and Stride’ to school with a WOW badge.
In Scotland, WOW schools see on average a 5-10 per cent increase in pupils walking to school with a corresponding drop in car use, helping to reduce congestion and improve safety outside the school gates.
Councillor Steven Rome said:
"I was delighted to come along to Mill O'Mains Primary today to see and hear all about the Wow Walk to School Challenge from the pupil ambassadors. Initiatives like this are a fantastic way of encouraging pupils and parents to travel actively to school.”
“It's vital that we support these choices with a safe environment and are all aware of the conditions around the school gates at the start and end of the school day."
Chris Thompson, Acting Co-Director, Living Streets Scotland, said:
“We’ve had an exciting afternoon launching WOW for another year. It’s great to see pupils’ commitment to walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to school.
“We’re delighted that so many schools in Scotland are enjoying the many benefits of regular exercise by taking part in WOW. Walking to school can help children and their families start the day on the right foot and fewer cars on the road leads to safer streets and better air quality.”
Rachel Knox, Teacher at Mill of Mains Primary School, said:
“The children in our school love collecting their monthly badges. It has made them very enthusiastic about travelling to school in an active way, with some even rasking to Park and Stride rather than driving all the way. They love competing against each other and checking the leaderboard to see which class is in the lead!”
If your school would like to get involved with the WOW Walk to School challenge or you would like to find out more, please contact [email protected]
About the author
Sarah Philpott
Communications Coordinator, Living Streets / [email protected]