Gloucestershire’s 2025 Big Walk and Wheel campaign was a county-wide celebration of active travel, with over 58,000 journeys logged and nearly 100 fully funded workshops and sessions delivered. The campaign inspired pupils, staff, and communities to embrace walking and wheeling as everyday choices.
What set this year apart was the integration of Modeshift STARS as a strategic framework. Schools were supported to log activities, track progress, and work toward accreditation – resulting in 12 schools successfully advancing on the STARS ladder. This case study demonstrates how combining a high-impact campaign with a structured accreditation platform can drive measurable, lasting change in school travel culture and set the stage for future success.
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Building on Existing Success
Gloucestershire County Council’s Thinktravel team leads on promoting and enabling sustainable travel across the county. We work closely with schools, communities, and families to embed healthier, greener travel choices into everyday routines.
The Big Walk & Wheel has long been a highlight in Gloucestershire’s active travel calendar. Yet we knew it could be more than just a moment of celebration. By embedding Modeshift STARS into our approach, we evolved the campaign into a strategic tool – one that supports schools in planning, tracking, and celebrating their travel achievements all year round.
With the county’s 26-mile Cycle Spine under development, the timing was ideal. This major infrastructure investment signaled a county-wide commitment to sustainable travel and created the perfect momentum to help students, staff, and families reimagine how active travel could fit into their daily lives.
Delivery & Engagement
We acted swiftly to support schools with onboarding, using clear guidance materials from Modeshift to help them recognize existing efforts and build confidence early.
To help schools in accelerate towards their accreditation goals, Thinktravel delivered 94 fully funded sessions across 48 schools, ensuring equitable access to high-quality active travel experiences. These sessions included:
- 29 School Assemblies
- 25 ‘Learn to Scoot’ Sessions
- 11 Early Years Led Walks
- 10 ‘Bling Your Bike’ Workshops
- 10 Led Cycle Rides
- 7 ‘History in Motion’ Performances
- 2 Dr Bike Maintenance
Schools were encouraged to upload evidence of these activities to their STARS profiles, helping them progress toward accreditation and celebrate their achievements.
Impact & Outcomes
The Big Walk and Wheel 2025 campaign had a measurable and lasting impact on schools across Gloucestershire:
12 schools moved up the Modeshift STARS accreditation ladder:
- 8 achieved Approved
- 1 achieved Good
- 3 achieved Very Good
Stronger-than-ever engagement with the Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel campaign:
- 52 schools signed up
- 42 actively logged journeys
- Total Active Journeys Recorded: 58,333
- 42,484 on foot / wheelchair
- 8,930 via scooter
- 6,453 cycled
- And 466 chose other active modes
Overall the campaign strengthened community engagement, improved pupil wellbeing, and helped embed active travel into school routines – supported and recognised through their STARS journey.
Reflections & Recommendations
Big Walk and Wheel 2025 showed how a short-term campaign can drive long-term change when paired with a structured framework like Modeshift STARS. It enabled schools to take ownership of their travel planning, track progress, and celebrate success.
Modeshift STARS helped overcome key challenges: measuring impact, demonstrating value, and securing funding. It turned anecdotal success into measurable outcomes and provided a strategic tool for planning and reporting.
‘I think it is the enthusiasm of the Thinktravel team, and the way pupils and teachers engage with logging their journeys and celebrating their achievements.’
– Dave Eliot Cooper, Histrionics
Modeshift STARS is more than a reporting tool – it’s a catalyst for cultural change in school travel.
