Post 16 students at Laleham Gap School are on a high after being told by the Young Travel Ambassador (YTA) judging panel that theirs was the “best project we have ever had.”
Their teacher, Paul Ursell, said: “This is the second time we have put in a YTA bid. Having set the bar so high last year I was a little nervous ahead of ‘The Big Reveal,’ with new students as well, we might not be able to do it again. To be told we have built on it is very satisfying.”
Last Year the Post 16 students started to develop a travel plan around cycling and this year’s bid was all about further embedding that.
The YTA judges who did The Big Reveal were Lorna, who is the Team Leader for the Safe Road User Team, and Joanne Lazenby, the YTA School Liaison Officer.
Lorna said she was blown away by the Post16 students: “When we have the privilege of assessing submissions that exceed our expectations, it generates a great sense of pride in the programme.
“The students at Laleham Gap have produced an extraordinary depth within their learning and clearly evidence their enthusiasm and motivation to succeed. It is a pleasure to work with the team, and I look forward to year three!”
The school was awarded the maximum grant of £250 to get on with its good work. The school has also been told its Road Safety and Right-Left-Right posters are so good the judges would like Laleham Gap to add the YTA logo to them. They would also like to use the posters and the bid as exemplars across Kent.
Alongside the poster campaign and letters to KCC about cycle paths, Laleham Gap is now on a path of strengthening cycling within the school The bid will see increased training, improved repairs, new wet weather and protective equipment and cycling further embedded in the ethos of the school.
In praising the YTA scheme Mr Ursell said: “2022-23 is proving to be a highly successful year for Post 16 students. They all passed Bikeability earlier in the year and have made great improvements through our travel training. Biking will be an important part of that. I am confident they will all go from strength to strength.”
