Crowthorne and Sandhurst

When: Tuesday April 14 to Saturday April 18, 2009

Where: Oaklands Junior School, Crowthorne

Children in the Wokingham Borough will be having some ‘wheelie’ good fun over the school Easter break while learning how to ride their bikes safely at the same time.

Two cycle training courses for children over the age of 10 will be taking place next week to get youngsters pedalling safely. They follow on from the successful cycle training sessions last year that saw more than 800 children get in the saddle and complete the course.

The two five-day courses will be taking place at Radstock Primary School, Radstock Lane, Lower Earley and Oaklands Junior School, Butler Road Crowthorne for two hours over each day (Tuesday to Saturday).

The holiday cycling courses are always popular and both courses next week are over-subscribed, with several youngsters having to go on a waiting list for the summer course.

Crowthorne Cycle training allows young people to learn essential road safety skills and gain greater awareness of the dangers on the road. This gives parents the reassurance to allow them to cycle short journeys, especially cycling to school. Cycling is also a good form of exercise and contributes to the 60-minutes of activity recommended for each day.

Jill Bissell, cycle training coordinator, said: “Cycle training is important so that young people understand the dangers of the road and how to keep themselves safe. Cycling is a great form of exercise and transport and so I’m pleased that so many children have again signed up to take part in these sessions.”

Cllr Keith Baker, executive member for Crowthorne highways and transport, said: “The Wokingham Borough is fortunate enough to have a large number of volunteers, including school governors, parents and school staff, able to help out with these essential cycle training sessions. Their support really does help make them such a success.

“In the past five years more than 4,400 children have been trained in cycling safety through the holiday cycling scheme and via cycle safety training at their school and so I’d like to thank everyone who gave up their time to ensure our children are safe on the roads.”

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Crowthorne