Bury St Edmunds school Sebert Wood Community Primary sets own record, with help of EcoCarriers BSE, for cycling, scooting or walking there

Nearly two thirds in a school arrived under their own steam yesterday as part of a record attempt.

EcoCarriers BSE, which promotes and facilitates increased cycling in Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages to help tackle climate change, teamed up with Sebert Wood Community Primary School on Moreton Hall to encourage as many people as possible to cycle, scoot or walk to school.

In total, 287 of mostly children and some staff got to school under their own steam, said EcoCarriers BSE director Libby Ranzetta, who added they were ‘absolutely delighted’ with that figure.

While not a Guinness World Record attempt, she explained she wasn’t aware of anyone recording the numbers before, and it would give them a record to look to beat next time.

Of the initiative, she said: “There are lots of benefits to it: it’s a good start to the day for children and it keeps more cars off the road so less congestion and it’s better for air quality and I think in this time of climate change we all need to think about using our cars less, particularly for shorter journeys.”

The event aimed to be a fun way for children to try cycling, scooting or walking to school if this is new to them and encouraged parents to leave the car at home and make the most of the extensive network of cycle paths on Moreton Hall.

James Tottie, headteacher of Sebert Wood Community Primary School, said: 'We're delighted with the number of pupils and their families who have walked, cycled and scooted to school today, with nearly 300 children taking part in our world record attempt.

“As a school we're passionate about looking after the environment, as well as promoting healthy lifestyles. We've worked with EcoCarriers BSE throughout the year to provide cycle training and maintenance sessions to encourage green travel. We can see it's making a difference.”

He said he hoped those who participated yesterday would be encouraged to make it a regular habit.

All children who took part were given a piece of fruit to continue the healthy start to their day and some received prizes, such as reflectors or bells.

EcoCarriers also offered to lend both adult and child riders a bicycle for this event so no-one felt excluded.

It has also supported the event with cycle training and Dr Bike sessions, and the Bike Library - which provides a bike for life for £30 - thanks to grants from Cycling UK, West Suffolk Council and Bury St Edmunds Town Council.

EcoCarriers has been running the award-winning Bike Train to school project since last September, serving town centre primary schools.