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"every child in school is now cycling"

(21 posts)

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  1. SRD
    Moderator

    “Over the past five years, 100% of the kids who cycle have achieved their academic targets and 75% have exceeded them. Our teachers have seen a clear link between cycling and success in the classroom and there is plenty of scientific evidence to back that up.

    “Attendance and behaviour has improved too, because nobody wants to miss out on cycling, and the long bike rides we take are like history, geography and maths lessons rolled into one. And our Bike Week involves studying lots of different subjects through the prism of cycling, things like health and safety, nutrition, and cooking."

    http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2016/Apr/New-BMX-track-for-school-obsessed-with-cycling.aspx

    Posted 6 years ago #

  2. Edinburgh Cycle Training
    Member

    Brilliant!

    Posted 6 years ago #

  3. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Met a class of young kids (late nursery or early primary) having a lesson in the woods in the Hermitage of Braid the other day.

    That's the nordic spirit is that. Cycling would be an excellent adjunct.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  4. crowriver
    Member

    What a great story.

    I'd love it if my son cycled to school.

    However it's not safe, despite segregated infrastructure along much of his route (Meadows, link from there to Innocent, Holyrood Park and/or Dumbiedykes). The gaps where there is no provision are just too dangerous, with busy roads, unsignalled roundabouts, bad sight lines at junctions etc. He could do it if he rode on footway for part of it, but the footways are narrow in places and busy.

    Luckily he's happy to walk, which while slower provides many of the same benefits to health and alertness upon arrival.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  5. Morningsider
    Member

    IWRATS - little Miss Morningsider was probably in that group. All the P1's at South Morningside are having a block of Friday mornings at the "Forest School" - she loved it.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  6. SRD
    Moderator

    My P7 has been cycling herself to and from school /after school activities several days a week for the past few weeks.

    No infra of anydescription on her route.

    Today she cycled rather than walked the Polwarth roundabout.

    I find myself obsessively checking her bike for damage when I get to school later with the P3.....

    I probably don't need to mention that she's also light up like a Christmas tree.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  7. crowriver
    Member

    "No infra of anydescription on her route."

    Hopefully some quiet streets though?

    My son has to cope with London Road, Abbey Lane, Abbeyhill; or London Road, Montrose Terrace, Abbeymount before he can get to quieter bits or off-road infrastructure.

    Nonetheless once the days start stretching again in March I may encourage him to have a go, with judicious use of pedestrian crossings and footway as necessary.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  8. gembo
    Member

    Great story. Would like to see the scientific evidence linking cycling to classroom success. Will,Google.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  9. ih
    Member

    "Would like to see the scientific evidence linking cycling to classroom success. Will,Google."

    Much though I might like it to be otherwise, I suspect it's correlation rather than causation. No reason to stop cycling though. Loads of other benefits.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  10. SRD
    Moderator

    @Crowriver That was not intended as a competition or criticism.

    it's not far and a route she has cycled since she was 7.

    it was intended as a comment on my stress levels letting her do even that, and the idiocy that her route is so unfriendly.

    luckily when she starts secondary it will be both closer and quieter.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  11. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Morningsider

    Ha! Excellent. There was an etiquette problem in that I wanted to say hello to my fellow citizens but dared not for fear of seeming weird.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  12. crowriver
    Member

    "That was not intended as a competition or criticism."

    Neither was it taken as such (I hope! Parents can be over-sensitive). :-)

    "Would like to see the scientific evidence linking cycling to classroom success. "

    Pretty sure I've seen stuff about active travel leading to pupils being more alert at the start of school day compared to their motorised counterparts. Don't have link to hand.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  13. chdot
    Admin

    https://www.broxap.com/2016/06/benefits-cycling-school/

    Posted 6 years ago #

  14. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.bikehub.co.uk/featured-articles/cycling-to-school/

    Posted 6 years ago #

  15. chdot
    Admin

    “

    Children who cycle to school are also likely to have:

    improved mental health and social wellbeing
    increased IQ and educational attainment
    greater independent mobility.

    “

    It says here -

    https://theconversation.com/why-arent-more-kids-cycling-to-school-3531

    Posted 6 years ago #

  16. gembo
    Member

    Great to cycle, great to cycle t school. All good for everyone. Not so good for anyone to be a single occupant driver.

    May I respectfully suggest we give the claims for the benefits of cycling beyond our own health and wellbeing and that of the planet (which is enough of course) the same degree of rigorous scrutiny we always do.

    Just because we agree with something does not mean it is correct.

    As ih observes these extra claims for cycling are correlational and likely to be explained just as easily by other variables. E.g. Those who cycle to school tend to come from middle class families where education is very highly valued and as such these children perform more strongly on academic tests.

    Would love it to be the cycling of course

    Posted 6 years ago #

  17. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Those who cycle to school tend to come from middle class families

    Perhaps then we should do whatever is necessary to make all families middle class? That would be quite a political project.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  18. chdot
    Admin

    “That would be quite a political project”

    Been there.

    Property owning, car driving class.

    Turns out to be massively in-debt class which (apparently) is ‘less likely to go on strike’ which may or may not have been part of the grande dame’s plan.

    Cycling is not embraced by the “middle class” enough!

    Those in the middle classes who advocate for (or against) things just make more noise!

    Posted 6 years ago #

  19. crowriver
    Member

    I always thought Thatcher's target was the so-called C2s, the skilled workers or "aristocracy of labour" as Bakunin termed them. This "elite" group within the proletariat was more likely to earn good wages (often more than many in the lower middle class) and be conservative with a small "c". The Tories increased their support amongst this group during the 1980s and early 1990s through policies like Right To Buy council houses. Popular media referred to this type of working class Tory by the stereotype "Essex Man".

    Posted 6 years ago #

  20. acsimpson
    Member

    It also seems possible that the projects success is because of the teachers involved. A school doing activities of this nature are presumably looking for ways to enhance the learning environment and they may have succeed.

    As others have mentioned though it's not a controlled experiment for many reasons.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  21. LaidBack
    Member

    Article is good but 'obsessed'? - that's a word with negative connotations.
    New BMX track for school obsessed with cycling

    Northumbria wants to get everyone to do at least one journey a week by foot or bike by 2025. No chance of obsessive active travel overtaking obsessive car use then?

    On related topic the whole H&S contradictions of modern travel made news in Scotland this week. Parents want all children to wear seatbelts when provided in school buses. (Not every authority requests seatbelts). Despite the hundreds of hours children spend learning about travel in cars they won't voluntarily belt up once in secondary. Quelle surprise. Related to h****t debate. Most children don't spend that much time on bikes learning from adults (away from the more forward looking people here).

    Posted 6 years ago #

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