TfL celebrates London pupils championing active travel

Transport for London (TfL) has accredited seven exemplary schools with gold ratings and school vouchers as part of its Travel for Life programme, which aims to improve congestion, road safety and air quality on the school run and encourage alternative transport modes.

Almost half of all schools in London engage with TfL’s free Travel for Life accreditation programme, delivered in partnership with London Transport Museum and London Councils. When schools take part in the programme they can achieve bronze, silver, or gold accreditation based on their success in delivering educational activities, reducing car use and increasing sustainable travel to school. The London boroughs of Bromley, Ealing and Hillingdon have the highest proportion of schools achieving gold accreditation this year. TfL aims to increase the number of schools achieving a gold rating from 735 to 1,000 by the end of year.

The annual Travel for Life school awards, which took place at the Kia Oval on the 19 May, had seven categories for schools to enter: Best Newcomer, Long-term Excellence, Modeshift Impact, Best Campaign, Creativity and Innovation, Student Achievement and School Champion, with the winners in each category receiving gold accreditation and school vouchers.

The winning schools in each category were:

Best Newcomer

Belmont Park school in Waltham Forest gained Best Newcomer award for their focus on creating a safe environment and building collaboration between schools, families and mental health professionals, to help pupils thrive.

Long-term Excellence

Churchfields junior school, based in Redbridge, have taken part in the scheme for over 12 years and won the Long-Term Excellence award for their consistent work on lowering car use on the school run for a decade, working closely with parents and local councillors to change the road markings and signage outside the school.

Modeshift impact

Cherry Orchard Primary school in Greenwich won the Modeshift Impact award by going the extra mile of reducing school-run car use to just 4 per cent, resulting in active travel increasing from 77 per cent to 96 per cent.

Best Campaign

St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, in Brent, won the Best Campaign award due to their drive on positive change, starting a community petition to help tackle a busy junction near their school.

Creativity and Innovation

The Breakspear school in Hillingdon came first in the creativity and innovation award, successfully receiving funding for an innovative video to educate and inspire parents and pupils at a Dragons’ Den event.

Student Achievement

The Ellen Wilkinson school for girls in Ealing lead the way for student achievement through their student ambassadors work on problem solving, creating and developing workshops to encourage more walking.

 School Champion

Teaching assistant, Noirin Moloney went above and beyond, working across two schools to ensure they both achieved their gold accreditation by arranging, cycling proficiency lessons and asking local police and fire services to visit the pupils, resulting in St Martin of Porres and St Paul’s schools, winning the School Champion award.

London's Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman said: “TfL’s Travel for Life schools programme is helping the next generation of Londoners understand the importance of safer, greener travel. It’s great to see schools leading the way in building a cleaner capital and supporting the Mayor’s vision for a healthier, more sustainable London. Congratulations to all schools involved for their brilliant work!”

TfL’s Chief Health, Safety & Environment Officer, Lilli Matson, said: “Congratulations to all the schools involved. It’s so rewarding to see young people coming together for a cleaner city by choosing cycling, scooting and walking and to reduce harmful emissions from cars when travelling to and from school. It’s important to keep this momentum going.”

Susanna Glaser from Cherry Orchard Primary school, said: "We are extremely proud of our school to have won the Modeshift Impact award. We have all worked so hard to reduce car use. A big thanks to every single student Ambassador who has been supporting this programme in our school. We are so excited to be making an impact that will affect the future of London.”

Elizabeth McKay, Director and CEO, London Transport Museum, said: “We’re so proud of the amazing effort students and schools across London are putting into active travel through TfL Travel for Life. Whether it’s walking, cycling, or scooting to school, they’re making a real difference by creating a greener, safer future for the capital, as well as instilling lifelong habits benefitting health and wellbeing.’

This week marks Living Streets' Walk to School Week challenge which will see pupils take on The Great Space Walk, encouraging them to travel actively to school every day of the week. Pupils will learn about the important reasons to walk or wheel and its benefits for local communities. 

TfL supports the Mayor of London’s transport strategy for a brighter, safer and sustainable London, championing active travel. This is in support of Vision Zero which aims to eliminate serious injuries and deaths from London’s transport network, and the Healthy Streets approach to improve air quality, reduce congestion and help make London's diverse communities greener and healthier.