St Martin’s School leads the way on active travel

An astonishing 91% of them usually arrive at school and leave each day on foot, bicycles or scooters.

If bus users are included, the figure goes up to 95% – meaning that only one in 20 pupils is dropped off or collected by car.

Pupils’ travel data is collected across the UK and investigations by St Martin’s and the Guernsey Press found no other school with as many journeys by active forms of travel, except possibly Sark where cars are banned.

The nearest challenger to St Martin’s, which was a school in Oxfordshire, was several percentage points behind, at 89% including bus users, but most were nowhere near as high, and the UK has an active travel target of just 50% by 2030.

‘We have always promoted active travel and these figures are the result of many small steps taken over the last eight years,’ said St Martin’s head teacher Clare Giles.

‘We were at around 50% back then, but now we have children with cerebral palsy who ride to school and very young children who come in on balance bikes.

‘We are really proud of the number of our pupils actively travelling. We would love to get to 100%, but we know that travelling in these ways will not be possible for everyone.’

The number of pupils walking, cycling or using the bus, which was already high and increasing, has shot up further since La Route des Coutures, the road outside the school, was made a school street last year.

‘What a difference it has made,’ said Mrs Giles.

‘This has really been driven by the children. We are a Unicef Gold Rights Respecting school and it was the children who approached me to say the road was not safe.

‘I think it was the first time in Guernsey when children have directly impacted a change like this.’

At drop-off and pick-up times during school terms, La Route des Coutures is closed to all traffic except cyclists, residents and emergency vehicles.

After a trial last year, the term time closures have now been made permanent. The school asked parents for feedback after the trial and 97% said they were in favour of keeping the school street.

‘The residents have been amazing,’ said Mrs Giles.

‘We leafleted all the affected houses and only had one person contact us and that was because they had not realised they still had access at all times.’

St Martin’s douzaine objected to the road closure and said last week that it had requested an urgent meeting with States traffic officials, who are part of the Environment & Infrastructure Committee.

‘We have now had a cordial meeting with them, but the closure of the road will not be changed,’ said St Martin’s constable Dave Beausire.

‘We highlighted the point that residents’ traffic can still use the road, and we have been promised that this point will be reinforced and discussed with parents and children.’