Children from a York school are taking their views on the school run to the top on Thursday (July 4) when they meet City of York Council's key transport and road safety planners.

The children, all year five pupils from Poppleton Road Primary School, are going into the council chamber to speak to the council's head of transport planning Colin Knight and other key transport planners and present their ideas on how their journey to school could be improved.

The initiative is part of a city-wide safe routes to school project which is backed by the council.

The school run is a major contributor to traffic congestion and just to underline their point about alternatives the Poppleton Road School children will actually march from their school at Holgate into the city centre to give this week's presentation - and then walk back again.

The presentation follows three days of data collection and classroom discussion and debate on the problems pupils face on their journey to school and the changes that would enable more pupils to walk and cycle to school.

Year five class teacher Val Wyman said, "We welcome year five students' active involvement in this project which provides an excellent link to PSHE and citizenship issues in the national curriculum.

"The health and safety of our pupils is a top priority therefore we welcome the opportunity to work with the City of York Council to improve safety on the journey to school and improve the health of pupils through encouraging more walking and cycling to school".

Caroline Emmerson, the council's school travel plan coordinator, said, "The council was happy to involve Poppleton Road pupils in this exciting project. Children's views about the journey to school are very important to us if we are to successfully facilitate improved safety and an increase in walking and cycling to school.

"I would also like to congratulate the hard work of the staff and children involved, who walked all the way to the council offices and back to school again at the end of the presentation".

Councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing, the council's executive member for transport, said, "I welcome the fact that the children at Poppleton Road Primary School are thinking about how they can travel to school.

"Their views are very important to the council as they are a part of the city's future. I hope that the work undertaken will not only encourage other children to think about how they travel to school, but will also draw parents and carers into the discussion on walking and cycling in and around the city".

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