North west high school geared up to promote benefits of cycling
Gairloch High School pupils are ready to ‘get on their bike’ after receiving funding from Cycling Scotland to promote a range of activities.
The successful application was welcome news to Gairloch High School head Wim Chalmet, who confirmed that funding will expand access to training beyond the S1 curriculum, with their fleet of bikes being made available for after school clubs. It is also expected that the funding will support training for adult community volunteers to build interest and capacity in a sustainable cycling community club model.
The funding will also provide support to senior pupils who are involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Mountain Bike Expedition group.
Mr Chalmet said: “We are super excited about the ‘Get on your Bike’ project. The project is aimed at actively encouraging young people to cycle. The funding from Cycling Scotland has enabled us to buy bikes and equipment that will be used to improve social inclusion, mental wellbeing by being physically active and have a sustainable model for promoting cycling in the wider community.”
The Free Access to Bikes for Secondary Schools pilot, launched by Cycling Scotland in August 2021, aims to enable schools to test a variety of ownership and loan models to ensure the best model works for the school and the young person requiring a bike.
As part of the pilot, bikes can be transferred to the ownership of the young person or provided as long-term bike loans, as best meets the respective need to ensure inclusion and accessibility.
One to one advice and support will be available and provided to schools.
