The money will be used to fund prizes and rewards to recognise those who make the switch to healthier and more environmentally friendly means of commuting to and from school. Car sharing and the concept of ‘park and stride’, which involves driving part way and walking the rest of the journey, are among the initiatives being encouraged.

The ambassadors pitched their ideas to a panel of experts including members of the East Riding Road Safety team, Emily Cherry, chief executive of cycling charity the Bikeability Trust, Gavin Wood, an inspector with Active Travel England, and Rob Atkin – project coordinator at walking charity, Living Streets.

The core idea of the pitch was the continuation of the school’s annual Active Travel Day – a focussed day of incentives and activities which, since 2023, has aimed to reduce traffic congestion around the school gates and helped to promote the health and well-being benefits of travelling more actively.  

To encourage participation, all those who make a concerted effort to travel more sustainably for the day will be given a raffle ticket for automatic entry into a prize draw. Last year, over 200 participants were rewarded for their efforts - winning a wide range of prizes from skateboards to scooters and footballs to swim vouchers.

Among new incentives pitched for the current academic year are a ‘golden lock’ prize giveaway, which will reward regular cyclists with prizes every half term, and the launch of an Active Travel newsletter to celebrate the work of the ambassadors and promote sustainable travel tips. 

Overseeing the work of the travel ambassadors is Nick Richmond, ​​Teacher of PE and leader of the school’s student-led Board for Change, who said: “Our Active Travel Ambassadors are incredible advocates for both sustainable travel and for our school. They delivered their presentation exceptionally well and impressed the panel, not only with their confident pitch but with their reflections on their work so far and how this is shaping their future plans.

“Our ambassadors spent a considerable amount of time preparing for their pitch and have been rewarded for their efforts by securing £450 to help make their ideas a reality. Under the banner of our Board for Change, our Active Travel Ambassadors remain part of a bigger student-led campaign to bring meaningful change to their school. I am very proud of them all.”  

Since 2023, the ambassadors have collectively secured £1,920 from organisations including sustainable travel champions, Modeshift, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and Active Withernsea, to help fund their mission to promote active travel.

ABOVE: The school's Active Travel Ambassadors, pictured at County Hall, Beverley, where they successfully secured £450 towards the promotion of Active Travel at the school. Pictured with the students are members of the judging panel (back left to right): Emily Cherry from the Bikeability Trust, Rob Atkin from Living Streets, Gavin Wood from Active Travel England, and presenter David Eliot from Histrionics.

BELOW: The ambassadors make themselves at home in the council's chambers...