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Walk to School Week

In short...

Themes: society, citizenship, rights and responsibilities, rules, laws, justice.

Summary: This assembly could be scheduled during Walk to School Week - w/c 19 May 2025 - or International Walk to School Month. According to campaigners Living Streets: 'A generation ago, 70% of us walked to school - now it's less than half.' Walking to school is a good idea for all sorts of reasons… so why do so many pupils arrive by transport… and what can be done to encourage safe walking?

Resources: the framework to / print (pdf) and an image of children walking to school.

Blue line.

The video

Pupils Evie and Shaeya discuss how they get to school. Shaeya walks, but Evie comes in the car. Only 40% of their classmates come on foot, even less than the national average of 46%. The girls meet Aare Puussaar, from Newcastle University, who helps them test air pollution caused by traffic near their school. They are shocked to discover rush hour air pollution levels are quite high, with small particles from car exhausts that are bad for our lungs. The girls find pollution levels drop when there is less traffic. They agree with their deputy headteacher, Brian Ostro, that parents often have good reasons for bringing their children to school by car. But we will all be fitter and our streets less polluted if we walk to school whenever we can.

Duration: 4' 38"

End of speech: 'I'm going to talk to my parents to see if we can make it happen.'

Video questions

  • What percentage of pupils usually walk to Evie and Shaeya's school? (40%)
  • What is the national average for children walking to school? (46%)
  • Which university is air pollution researcher Aare Puussaar from? (Newcastle University)
  • Why does Aare Puussaar say buses are good for the environment? (He says: 'It's better to have 60 people on one bus than 60 cars on the road'.
  • What is 'rush hour'? (The time in the morning when most people travel to work or school and the time in the evening when they go home again)
Blue line.

Key links

/ print the assembly framework ready for use

Assembly framework (pdf)
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Suggested framework

1. Entry music
You could play 'Stop! Look! Listen! Think!' a song from The British Council about safely crossing the road (see 'Related links' below).

2. Introduction
Display the image of children walking to school (see 'Key links'). Encourage the children to listen closely to the entry music and to in with the song. You might choose children to stand at the front and model the 'Stop! Look! Listen! Think!' moments, as if they were about to cross a road. Explain that today's assembly is about Walk to School Week, when children and families are encouraged to take up the challenge to come to school on foot. Ask: 'Why do you think it might be a good idea to walk to school">