Fife primary schools shine in Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel 2024

A total of 33 schools in the Kingdom took part in the annual competition, which inspires pupils to make active journeys to school, improve air quality in their neighbourhood, and discover how these changes benefit their world.

The Big Walk and Wheel 2024 events took place in March and the initiative ranks schools across the UK in three categories: very small school, small school, and large school.

As an added incentive, the best performing schools in Fife were awarded incentives to continue with their active travel planning and activities.

The Fife winners in each category were: Very Small School – Strathmiglo Primary School. A total of 83 per cent of pupils actively travelled to school placing it second overall in Scotland and in third place in the whole of the UK.

In the Small School category, Falkland Primary School saw 78 per cent of pupils actively travelling to school, placing it fourth in Scotland and 26th in the UK; while Dalgety Bay Primary was first in Fife for the Large School with 81 per cent of its pupils actively travelling to school. It placed fourth overall in Scotland and 36th in the UK.

Councillor Altany Craik, Fife Council spokesperson for Finance, Economy, and Strategic Planning, said: “The results from this years’ Big Walk and Wheel event showcase the hard work of Fife’s staff and pupils in encouraging active travel to and from school. As we continue to build our active travel infrastructure in Fife, and create a resilient transport network, it is important for Fife's pupils to learn to walk, wheel, and cycle, in a safe and secure way.

“It is encouraging to see so many Fife schools in the rankings, and I’d like to say a huge congratulations to the Fife winners, and to all our schools that took part this year.

“Active travel plays a key role in our Local Transport Strategy, and it is great to see Fife's young people already embedding sustainable travel into their lives at such a young age, especially as we transition to net zero to address the climate emergency."