PUPILS have pedalled their way to a regional award.
Red House Academy was one of a number of schools across the region to take part in the Go Smarter campaign.
The scheme was launched in a bid to encourage more young people to get to school by walking, cycling or using public transport.
The academy’s popular Bike Project, which was supported by the police through the donation of unclaimed bicycles, came out on top in a survey of pupils’ views on sustainable transport, netting the school a £1,000 prize.
Deputy Mayor of Sunderland, Coun Robert Heron, presented the prize and said: “I was delighted to be invited to Red House Academy and see how hard they are working through the Go Smarter campaign to encourage their classmates to walk, cycle or get public transport to school.
“They’ve held challenges, created questionnaires and carried out surveys to try and find out why families still use the car to get to school when there are other healthier, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly alternatives available.”
Loraine Humble, community manager at Red House Academy, in Rutherglen Road, Sunderland, said: “The project has been very popular with the students and is encouraging more young people to cycle to school.
“We are hoping to use some of the money we won from the school’s Go Smarter programme to fix up more bikes and make them available to students who don’t have one their own.
“We are also planning to hold workshops and market stalls in the spring to provide the students with information about the benefits of walking and cycling to school.”
Coun James Blackburn, portfolio holder for city services, also congratulated the school.
He hopes the success of the project can be a springboard for more people in the community to ditch their cars and go green.
He said: “If we can persuade more people to consider using other travel options to the car, we can not only reduce congestion but also improve people’s health and their local environment.”
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