AN Altrincham school invited MP Graham Brady to discuss how the area’s roads could become safer for children to cycle, scoot and walk.

Altrincham Church of England Primary School has worked with the charity Sustrans to increase the number of children cycling and scooting to school.

The project will be featured on the BBC's Newsround programme on Monday.

Around 15 per cent of children now regularly cycle and walk to school compared to just three per cent last year and this year the school won a prize draw in the Sustrans Big Pedal Competition in June when pupils made more than fifty per cent of journeys by bicycle and scooter.

But headteacher Jim Inglis and parents say the roads are still unsafe for many children to travel to school regularly on two wheels. They want the MP for Altrincham and Sale West, to champion safe routes to school in the area.

Mr Brady attended a school cycle safety skills session and spoke to headmaster Jim Inglis, parents and Vincent Goodwin from Sustrans, about how routes could be improved in the area. He also learnt about the Sustrans Campaign for safer streets.

Vincent Goodwin, Sustrans’ Smarter Choices manager in the North West said: “Children tell us they want to cycle or walk to school but in many areas the roads are not safe enough for parents to allow

it."

Jim Inglis, headmaster at Altrincham Church of England School said: “We are very proud of our achievements in this year’s Big Pedal competition, which really demonstrated how much our pupils enjoy cycling and walking to school. We would very much like to keep up these levels of cycling and walking but many parents are understandably concerned about road safety in the area. We hope Graham will campaign on our behalf to get more funding in the area to improve cycling and walking facilities on the roads.”

In the UK only four per cent of school children commute to school by bike or scooter, but research shows that nearly half of all children want to use two wheels for transport.