Montpelier High School, an all-girls school in Bristol, faced a significant challenge: no students were cycling to school.
Stephanie Lake, who was Active Travel Ambassador Coordinator for the Southwest at the time, tells us more:
The main barriers identified through my work with Montpelier High School and the Active Travel Ambassador (ATA) programme in January included, students living too far away, a lack of personal bikes, and safety concerns when cycling around Bristol.
To address the issue, the school launched a student-led Bike Week Campaign. In March, they presented their idea to industry experts and other ATA schools at Bristol City Hall. They were successful in securing £200, along with an additional £50, as their idea captured the attention of the experts!
With this funding, the ATAs executed their campaign in June, which included offering ‘Dr. Bike’ repair services, running a ‘Bike Passport’ competition where students could win prizes for cycling to school, and improving access to the bike shed. This initiative was supported by strong partnerships with Modeshift, Bristol City Council, Travel West resources, and Fettle, the local bike shop.
They ran a Bike Passport competition for all students in Years 7-10, distributing stamp cards which fitted into students’ lanyards. Students earned stamps by cycling to school and could win prizes which were carefully chosen to be popular and eco-friendly.
With the support of Bristol City Council the school were able to offer ‘Dr Bike’ repair services for both students and staff; ATAs also approached Fettle, the local bike shop, and secured a 10% discount on bike repairs which was valid for the whole summer. Bike Week activities meant the bike shed was supervised, removing the need to get a key and making access much easier.
The campaign was widely promoted using a range of communication channels, alongside reminders about Bike Week, the whole school community was made aware of opportunities such as a bike loan scheme offered by Travel West and reminded of key cycle safety messages.
The impact was remarkable. Before the campaign, there were no student cyclists, but afterward, 10 students began cycling to school – a 1000% increase!
Students noted benefits like cycling being ‘much quicker to get to school,’ (year 8 student) and appreciated help to overcome barriers: ‘I really wanted to cycle into school during bike week, but my bike had a flat tyre. I am happy Dr. Bike has come in this week so I can now ride with my friend to school.’ (year 7 student). Staff were pleased to see the bike sheds ‘fuller this week’ and one was inspired to say, ‘This is the year I cycle to work!’.
Looking ahead, the bike shed will now always be open before school to encourage continued cycling. Montpelier High School has also achieved a Good Accredited STARS Travel Plan as a consequence and continues the Active Travel Ambassador programme this academic year, building on their success.
