A primary school in Aberystwyth has won the Sustrans Gold Active Travel School Award, becoming the first in Ceredigion to win the coveted award.
For all schools, the end of an academic year is a busy one but for Plascrug Community School it turned out to be an exceptional end of year.
After years of showing great commitment to active travel under the guidance of cycling charity, Sustrans, the multicultural primary school located in Aberystwyth won the Gold Active Travel School Award. The first school in the county to win!
The Gold Active Travel School Award is presented to a school that has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to promoting active and sustainable travel over several years, which has led to significant and lasting organisational, cultural and behavioural changes.
To celebrate, Alice Baynton, the Sustrans Active Journeys Officer for West Wales, arranged a celebratory event. Elin Jones MS came to join in the celebration, as did Councillors Shelley Childs, Wyn Thomas and Alun Williams, as well as Sustrans staff all the way from Cardiff.
At the assembly, Sustrans Active Journeys Officer Alice awarded a gold award plaque, two new school bikes to support pupils in their efforts to learn to ride and three new scooters to be used for weekly Scooterer of the Week awards. Receiving the presentation were Bronze Ambassadors Wole Asanbe, Ella Scherpe, Denis Rukov and Izzy Jones, as well as Active Champion Lee Davies - Arianwen Ellis was absent that day.
To finish off the celebrations, the whole school took to the avenue to walk, scoot or cycle a victory lap. Many of the pupils dressed up in gold or in party clothes. Some had even treated their bikes and scooters to a bit of gold bling for the event.
Many members of the school community came to join in the celebrations on the avenue and clapped and cheered as the pupils completed their victory lap. After returning to school, everyone was able to enjoy refreshments and cakes, thanks to a kind donation from Neville Evans at Cambrian Tyres, a former Plascrug student himself.
Staff, pupils, teachers and parents all contribute to increasing active travel at schools, whether that’s walking, cycling or scooting. It isn’t always easy. The Active Travel School Award helps schools to increase and sustain the numbers of pupils travelling to school actively. The award, funded by the Welsh Government, provides accreditation so all that hard work can be recognised.
The school would like to thank Sustrans and their local officers for all their support over the years and to the school community for supporting the school in encouraging pupils, families and staff to actively travel to school to reduce pollution, congestion and improve wellbeing and health.
