What a tremendous series of come and try bike (CATB) events we have had this year.  There were close to 300 pupils from 7 different Midlothian primary schools taking part in 16 events.  Through working with schools the events have linked closely to the curriculum in areas such as health and wellbeing, languages, mathematics and technologies amongst others.  This fits well with our planning model which we are using in the  Outdoor Learning Service.

The CATB events took place within walking distance of most schools in local parks and some school grounds.  The events involved up to 18 pupils at a time learning to complete safety checks, how to use the brakes and gears effectively and then to have a chance to race round a skills to beat the clock.

The skills learned during these sessions can be used to develop other aspects of cycling such as commuting to school (sustainability development education) or hitting the trails at the world class Glentress near Peebles in the Borders (Opportunities for personal achievement) .

We would like to thank all the staff for their commitment to learning outdoors and for encouraging the pupils in their charge to develop new transferable skills in cycling.  We would also like to thank all the pupils that took part in the events for their great participation, attitude and energy.  The accelerated learning taking place during these events was amazing.  The learning culminated in lots of positive feedback from staff and pupils –

Teacher from St Davids Priamry School

“….The children are still buzzing after it and they’ve been speaking very positively about it all afternoon! I also really enjoyed it! It was great to see the children learning in such a relevant and meaningful way. They were constantly engaged and were given so many different opportunities to challenge themselves…”

Pupils from St Davids Primary School

“ It was a really fun session because I got to challenge myself in ways that I never thought I would.”

“The session was very well put together and I loved every minute!”

For the groups that have attended one of the come and try bike events, why not make the next step and plan a bike journey with the staff at the Outdoor Learning Service next academic year.   For the schools not involved this year we look forward to working with you next time.  We relish the prospect of helping to develop cycling through the curriculum in Midlothian Schools in 2015-16.