How did you travel to school?

Many children these days are driven to the gates by their parents, but a Transport for London scheme is aiming to change all that by promoting safe and active methods of transport.

The Stars programme – which stands for sustainable travel: active, responsible, safe – works with primary and secondary schools across the capital to help the community adopt healthy and sustainable ways of getting to school.

And where better than London’s most sustainable building, The Crystal, to host a seminar for nine of the borough’s primary schools?

The youngsters shared ideas about active ways of getting to school, such as walking and cycling, while staying safe at the same time.

Activities at the Royal Docks venue ranged from discussions about barriers to active travel to school, to best ways of communicating messages to the school communities and smart ideas of how best to reduce car use.

Suggestions included a bike raffle for children who consistently cycle to school, creating posters to encourage children to walk to school, encouraging more people to carpool and introducing a car free day.

Donna Harman, TfL Stars project manager, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many young Londoners discovering the benefits of walking and cycling.

“With fewer cars on the school run, we can all enjoy cleaner air quality, as well as less congestion and parking issues near schools.

“In addition to our Stars programme, we’re committed to providing better cycling and walking routes, as well as a raft of major improvements to our streets, which will help to boost the quality of life of those who live in our great city.”