Group shot of staff and students outside Cardiff Bay ACTION for Children’s Headlands School in Penarth has achieved the highest-ranking Welsh school and top six UK-wide school in the Sustrans Big Pedal Challenge 2021. Sustrans Big Pedal is the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting challenge and has been taking place this year from 19 to 30 April. Big Pedal has been running for 11 years and has inspired hundreds of thousands of pupils, staff and parents to take active journeys to school. Over 2,000 schools have registered for the challenge with over 750,000 pupils taking part in 3.2 million active journeys. Headlands School is an independent special school that offers day and residential placements for boys and girls aged seven to 19 who have difficulty learning as a result of early trauma, complex emotional and social issues, Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Asperger’s Syndrome.
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Group shot of staff and students outside Cardiff Bay ACTION for Children’s Headlands School in Penarth has achieved the highest-ranking Welsh school and top six UK-wide school in the Sustrans Big Pedal Challenge 2021. Sustrans Big Pedal is the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting challenge and has been taking place this year from 19 to 30 April. Big Pedal has been running for 11 years and has inspired hundreds of thousands of pupils, staff and parents to take active journeys to school. Over 2,000 schools have registered for the challenge with over 750,000 pupils taking part in 3.2 million active journeys. Headlands School is an independent special school that offers day and residential placements for boys and girls aged 7 to 19 who have difficulty learning as a result of early trauma, complex emotional and social issues, Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Asperger’s Syndrome.
In November, the government made a commitment to ending the sale of diesel and petrol cars by 2030. This historic move has seen funding of nearly £1.8 billion invested in infrastructure and grants to work towards zero-emission vehicles. Currently, there are over 235,000 pure-electric cars on UK roads, but there is still a long way to go to ensure that all cars are electric. And whilst the positives of electric cars are evident, is this green move entirely deserving of such praise? Electric cars are famous for being the green alternative to driving, and in a world consumed by pressing climate issues, a low carbon footprint alternative is welcomed eagerly. However, electric cars are not perfect - if the electricity used to charge the car is generated through burning fossil fuels, the CO2 emissions are still astronomical. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, electric cars actually generate more carbon emissions that diesel and petrol cars, as sourcing the
Children will be encouraged to ride their bikes to school as part of a new campaign. The Big Pedal is the largest inter-school cycling and scooter-based challenge in the UK and is intended to inspire children, teachers, and parents to make the daily journey to school by bike rather than car. As well as reducing traffic congestion and having a positive impact on the environment, it could also improve health and wellbeing. To date, 11 Northumberland schools have signed up and are actively engaging with daily challenges. Cath McEvoy-Carr, executive director for adult and children’s services, said: “This is a great way to get our children and young people involved in exercise whilst also giving them the opportunity to learn about the benefits of cycling, scooting and even walking to school rather than using a vehicle; both for the environment and their own health and wellbeing.”