Boroughs and partners

London Borough of Southwark

Bike-to-school competition

Bike-to-school competition

About this activity

Suitable for primary or secondary school pupils.

NB: We’re bringing together all the TfL education programmes, including STARS, under one exciting new umbrella programme called TfL Travel for Life. They will be the same great programmes, but with a new name and a new look, easier online process and dedicated support team. STARS for primary schools will be renamed TfL Explorers. STARS for secondary schools will be renamed TfL Pioneers.

Run a Bike-to-school competition with prizes on offer to encourage your pupils to get cycling.

You can offer one or multiple prizes to those who cycle the most depending on your budget. If little or no budget is available, approach your school community for donations or offer house or reward points for the winner’s class.

Running the activity

The competition can be run over a week, a month or a whole term.

This activity is an opportunity to involve your TfL Explorer Ambassadors in the planning, running and prize giving. 

Record the number of cyclists each day by asking them to complete a ticket with their name and class on. Collect these and count them up on the last day of the competition to find out who has cycled the most and reward your winner(s). Or, you can use a bike count sheet.

This activity can also spark team spirit and inter-class competition; see which class can tally up the most journeys or who cycles the most from each class.

How to evidence your activity

  • Involve your borough officer: Share your ideas, agree your targets and discuss any challenges you face
  • Record the feedback from your pupils. Note how effective the activity has been in increasing the number of pupils cycling to school
  • Add your story to the TfL Travel for Life website. Explain your activity and include photos, score sheets and your pupils’ feedback. Also include any posters, letters and promotional materials you or your TfL Travel Ambassadors produced

Activity contributed by Sustrans.

Activity steps

1
Plan the competition
Work with your TfL Travel Ambassadors and school travel working group to decide how and when to run the competition. Discuss how you will promote it and what the prizes will be
2
Promote
Let your school community about the competition - spread the word on posters, the website, in the newsletter and in assembly
3
Count your tickets
See how the activity affects bike use by counting the number of tickets collected each day during the competition
4
Pick the winners
With your team, pick your winner(s) and celebrate their victory in assemblies and the school newsletter
5
Check for success
How did pupils find the competition? Did it encourage them to start cycling, or cycle more often? How could you improve next time?
6
Tell your story
Feedback to your borough officer and add your story to the TfL Travel for Life website

Tags

  • Cycling

This activity counts towards:

  • Travel activity

How it helps

  • Gateway to other cycling initiatives
  • Encourages daily active travel
  • Opportunity for TfL Travel Ambassadors involvement

Resources

Useful links, templates and case studies to support this activity