Walk to School
The school takes part in this national initiative to encourage more children and parents to walk to school.

There are many good reasons for doing this including; excercise and health, safety, reducing pollution and traffic congestion, plus saving money (see below for more details).

We're pleased to announce that the Parish Council have given permission for those car drivers who live some distance from the school, to park in the Hooper’s Field car-park. This will enable them to walk the short distance from there to school and join in with the initiative.

The Hooper's to School Map shows the safest route, which will only take about 5 minutes to walk.

The central area of Wanborough is fortunate to have a number of footpaths, as well as the pavements alongside the roads, which make access to the school quick and safe for anyone living in this area. Journeys by foot using the routes may well take little or no more time than driving the much longer road route. The Walking Routes Map shows these.

Also, children can ride their bikes to school. Parents must decide whether routes from home are safe enough for this. Bikes should be locked in the bike sheds or along the wooden fence by the sheds. The school can take no liability for any bikes stolen or damaged whilst left on the school site.


Why Should We Walk to School
Some frequently asked questions
Find out more at the 'Walk to School' Website

"Why walk to school?"
The school run accounts for a sizeable chunk of rush-hour traffic. It causes congestion, pollution and danger outside most schools (as you will know if you experience it every day).

If more families were able to walk to school occasionally, then communities would experience the environmental and health benefits associated with fewer vehicles on the roads in their neighbourhood. We'd be fitter and healthier for a start!

"Are there legal guidelines regarding the age at which a child can walk to school on his own?"
There is no legal minimum age at which a child may walk to school on his own. It is up to parents to decide.

In 1971 80% of children aged seven or eight walked to school on their own. Today, fewer than one in 10 do so. (Sources: One False Move... A Study Of Children's Independent Mobility, Mayer Hillman, John Adams and John Whitelegg and Dept for Transport.)

There is now a growing body of evidence that the move to later independence is one of the main causes of our high teenage road accident statistics as children are not learning road safety from a young age.

"What are the facts about the risks of abduction?"
Figures show that children are no more likely to be abducted by predators today than they were 30 years ago. In 1994, for example, six children were murdered by strangers whereas 97 were killed travelling as passengers in cars. (Source: Sustrans, 1996)

"How many children walk to school?"
The proportion of primary school children walking has dropped from 61% in 1994 to 52% today, according to a National Travel Survey by the Dept for Transport in 2006. Forty-one percent of primary school children are now being driven to school.

"How much does it cost each year to drive a child to school?"
Based on the average school run being 1.5 miles, it costs more than £400 a year. Those who do the school run twice a day will drive an extra 1000 miles a year.

"What are the environmental arguments for walking to school?"
The school run is estimated to be responsible for over two million tonnes of CO2 emitted each year (Sutton Trust) – which is more than the annual CO2 emissions of the Bahamas.

The average drive to school and back releases 800g of C02 into the air - enough to inflate over 60 balloons.

"What is the evidence that walking can have social benefits?"
Walking to school is a critical factor in children’s emotional wellbeing. Short-term and even superficial exposure to natural areas though brief walks have been found to have positive effects on mood, reducing feelings of anger and anxiety.

The more contact children have with their natural environment, the higher they score in tests of concentration and self-discipline – with obvious repercussions for their future employability.

According to a study on walking buses there was very strong evidence that walking to school improves children’s social development. This related to social contacts, independence and road sense. The walkers reported a happy, jolly social experience.

The Walk to School campaign believes that getting a lift to school every day limits horizons leading to insulated children.

"Surely it's better to be in a car than breathing in fumes on the street?"
Contrary to popular belief, pedestrians generally experience the lowest exposure to pollution of any road users. According to reports on in-car air pollution, children in cars breathe in three times more traffic pollution than being on the pavement.

This is because aerodynamic effects of the moving vehicles, combined with the tendency of auto exhaust pollutants to dissipate quickly after emission, concentrates chemicals and particles in the midst of the traffic flow in the roadway.

In effect, cars on busy roadways drive through an invisible tunnel of concentrated pollutants. The exterior shells and ventilation systems of cars do little to divert these pollutants or filter them from the air entering the car's interior, and thus afford little protection to the people driving through this toxic tunnel.
(Source: International Center for Technology Assessment, USA, and Environmental Transport Association)

"What are the health reasons for children to walk?"
Childhood obesity in England has doubled in 10 years. Obesity is the most serious, and growing, health challenge for children.

These soaring rates have lead to an increase in childhood type II diabetes and will lead to more future cases of heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

Walking helps protect the body from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, obesity, depression, some types of diabetes and colon cancer.

Four out of 10 boys and six out of 10 girls do not do the minimum one hour a day of physical activity recommended by the health education authority.

A brisk one-mile walk in 20 minutes burns around 100 calories - as much as swimming for 10 minutes, playing football for 12 minutes or doing aerobics for 16 minutes.