Non-car day for pupils in Harrogate will return next month after fantastic support from schools

Walk to School Day - Pupils from Harrogate Grammar School which was the Zero Hero secondary school winner, with 90% participation in the non-car event.

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The latest Harrogate District Walk to School Day on Friday, February 4 - the fourth to take place so far - saw thousands of pupils taking part from a total of 41 schools in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and for the first time, Boroughbridge.

The event, which was sponsored by Your Harrogate and backed by Harrogate Borough Council and the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, saw many participating schools register an increase in the uptake among their pupils.

As a result, some of the town’s normally congested major routes quieter than normal.

The recent event saw Kettlesing Felliscliffe Community Primary School take the top spot in Zero Carbon Harrogate’s leaderboard as best primary school with 100% of its pupils taking part.

The runners-up in Walk to School Day in the primary school category were Starbeck Primary Academy with 90% of pupils taking part.

Not far behind were Birstwith Church of England Primary School, Beckwithshaw Community Primary School, and Marton-cum-Grafton Church of England Primary School, who all registered 89%.

Harrogate Grammar School was the Zero Hero secondary school winner, with 90% participation, followed closely by Harrogate High School with 82%.

The most improved school for participation was Pannal Primary School, boasting an impressive 27% increase in uptake.

Tockwith Church of England Primary School participation also improved by an impressiv e 26%.

As successful as last Friday’s event was, Zero Carbon Harrogate says it still has a long way to go in reducing the district’s carbon emissions, tackling congestion, and boosting pupils’ physical and mental health.

The charity is also encouraging adults to avoid car journeys on a weekly basis by signing up to the Car Free Friday.

ZCH’s Sarah Bissett said: “There has a been an increase in the geographical spread of schools taking part across the district but it’s a trend which we need to see continue throughout the year.”

To read more about the Car Free Friday project online by visiting: https://actionstorm.org/petitions/car-fre Fridays

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