18 Walk to school week 18-21 May
What are your memories of going to and from Primary School each day? Did you walk, cycle, run, get a lift in the car, go on the bus or train? Did you go by yourself, with a group of friends or siblings? Did an adult accompany you? Did you have a major road to cross? Probably our answers will vary, reflecting where we lived, how close the school was, and in which era we went to Primary School. Many of us probably grew up at a time when there were far fewer cars about, and such as there were went much slower. On the other hand, there were fewer designated crossings, and road marking were sometimes less clear. Roads are now much busier, and cars go faster. The pattern of family life, and the pattern of work, have changed too – so that it is often necessary for a parent to drop off the children at school as they head off to work, or to arrange for a grandparent to do ‘the school run’. Walking to school isn’t always easy to fit into the family schedule – and with the spread of new housing developments it can involve a long walk – but there are health and environmental benefits in being able to do it. This is a week observed nationally trying to promote it
Lord, the world and the education system have changed a lot since many of us were at school. Families face challenges that were not around a generation or more ago. In so far as it can be accommodated into their pattern of life and work, help parents or guardians to discover the benefits of walking to school, even if only occasionally
PS Inverness Castle and the River Ness
