Six times as many schools in neighbouring Bromley have achieved Gold standard in a London-wide active travel scheme that discourages parents driving their children to school than in Croydon, official figures show
With the Government’s target for 55% of primary school children walking to school by this year, Transport for London is calling on schools in the capital to sign up to its TfL Travel for Life programme to reap the health benefits of walking and cycling and improve air quality.
In Croydon, barely 10% of the borough’s state primary schools have achieved Gold status under the TfL scheme.
Bike rack: the up-take for TfL’s schools active travel programme has been much better in neighbouring Bromley than in Croydon
The accreditation programme encourages sustainable travel to school, including the safe use of public transport, to help health and safety.
By completing activities that promote walking and cycling to school and the safe use of public transport, primary and secondary schools can become Bronze, Silver or Gold accredited.
The programme is administered by London Transport Museum in partnership with London’s boroughs.
To achieve Gold accreditation, a school must have reduced car use by 6% or achieved 90% of the school run being made using sustainable transport. The number of schools awarded Gold in 2024 was 735, a 10% increase compared to 2023.
Bromley currently has the largest proportion of Gold schools, at 63%, followed by Islington, 49%, and Havering, 45%. Meanwhile Waltham Forest currently has the largest overall number of schools participating in the TfL Travel for Life programme, with 81% of its schools involved.
Just 12 schools in Croydon, including one independent school, have Gold accreditation. Not a single Croydon state secondary has Gold accreditation under the TfL scheme.
The Croydon schools with Gold status are: Beulah Infants’; Cypress Primary; Fairchildes Primary; Greenvale Primary; Howard Primary; Keston Primary; Norbury Manor Primary; Park Hill Junior; Royal Russell; St Nicholas; Hayes Primary; and Winterbourne Junior Girls. There are 106 state primary schools in Croydon.
In Sutton, 22 schools have Gold accreditation.
Numerous studies have confirmed the health benefits of walking and cycling to school, with national charity Living Streets citing improvements in mood and behaviour in children who travel on foot.
On yer bike: cycling commissioner Will Norman
Fewer parents driving children to school also improves road safety. There has been sustained improvement in safety for under-16s on London’s roads. In 2023, the number of children killed or seriously injured on London’s roads reduced by 40% against TfL’s 2010-14 baseline.
London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, said: “I would encourage as many schools as possible to join this fantastic scheme which improves the environment and supports fit and healthy lifestyles.
“We know that children who are introduced to active travel from a young age are more likely to continue the habit into adulthood – and it would be great to see even more schools involved this year.”
The TfL Travel for Life website contains information about each of the five Travel for Life programmes.
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Congratulations to those schools who did achieve the gold standard in encouraging parents not to drive children to school.
It’s a pity not many other schools in Croydon are as successful in protecting the health of our children.
Congrats indeed. Can we back this up with serious enforcement of parking and drop offs? I’ve seen horrendous behaviour in Kenley with drivers parked on the warning lines. It’s not always 4X4s but they are frequent offenders. If I were Mayor I’d have them towed and crushed. Then owners will be able to collect the cube from the scrap yard
The Mayor’s supposed to have installed money-spinning CCTV cameras outside most schools, but someone at the council ordered cameras that don’t work in this country, and those £130-a-time Penalty Charge Notices have not been whizzing out to offenders in the numbers that some – though not piss-poor Perry – may have hoped for.
Unfortunately Labour did away with the tow away service ten years ago, another example of their penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to managing our local authority https://insidecroydon.com/2015/11/26/parking-the-tow-trucks-is-another-sign-that-cuts-dont-work/
If he wasn’t so in hock to the motoring lobby, Perry would restore it, and give special incentives to council enforcement wardens for ticketing, clamping and towing wankpanzers
Towing what?!!!
Crates, obv
A lot of parents driving their children to school are doing so on their way to work.
worth a look https://www.solvetheschoolrun.org/