London schools the STARS of road safety

TfL's Leon Daniels with group(1)

Almost 1,500 schools across London have been recognised for their work in promoting active and safer travel, as part of the STARS schools programme.

STARS (Sustainable Travel: Active, Responsible, Safe) is a TfL initiative that rewards schools for their efforts in reducing car use, increasing walking and cycling and using public transport more responsibly.

The accreditation programme encourages children, parents and teachers to adopt more sustainable and safer ways of travelling to school. Since 2007, accreditation to STARS has grown from 180 schools to 1,475 in 2015.

Schools are judged on the number of initiatives delivered and their success in changing travel behaviour with Bronze, Silver and Gold accreditation levels.

At the annual STARS event at City Hall, awards were presented for the best primary and secondary school in North, South, East and West London. The winners were:

  • Oakleigh Primary School, Barnet (North London)
  • Chace Community Secondary School, Enfield (North London)
  • Highlands Primary School, Redbridge (East London)
  • Tawhid Boys Secondary School, Hackney (East London)
  • Wormholt Park Primary School, Hammersmith & Fulham (West London)
  • The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, Ealing (West London)
  • Hitherfield Primary School, Lambeth (South London)
  • The Glebe Secondary School, Bromley (South London)

For the first time, TfL presented schools with the Bike It Plus Exemplar award, which recognises schools that go above and beyond to promote cycling. The award went to three schools:

  • Salisbury Primary School, Brent
  • Cumberland Secondary School, Newham
    Mayflower Primary School, Tower Hamlets

Leon Daniels, managing director of TfL Surface Transport, said: “It is fantastic that more schools are joining our STARS programme each year. What children learn now will have a lasting effect on the future of our environment and that’s why we want to encourage more schools to sign up and emulate the inspirational work of STARS top performing schools.”