Dear Right to Riders,

 

The first of two CTC press releases about schools. 

 

 

CTC – the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation

 

10 July 2009

 

News release and photocall

 

 

 

Greenbank High School rolls out the red carpet for cycling film première

 

A ground-breaking short film about cycling made by students from Greenbank High School in Southport will be premièred at a special event at Southport Arts Centre on Wednesday 15 July at 6.30pm. 

 

A group of girls aged 12-14 from the school have spent six months producing a film called ‘Pedal Power – The Way Forward’, which shows how they have explored cycling and the role it can play in local people’s lives.

 

Around 150 guests from the local area, representatives from other ‘Cycling Towns’ in England and dignitaries will be attending the première. The young filmmakers will make a red carpet entrance, before they watch their film’s first screening.

 

The film project was organised by the North Sefton City Learning Centre and CTC’s Cycle Champions Officer for Sefton Juliet Jardine, who has been working closely with the school for over a year. Juliet said: “The motivation of these young women has been fantastic. They have seen the very real benefits of cycling and made it their mission to spread the word.”

 

Sections of the film were shot using ‘helmet-cams’, enabling viewers to appreciate first-hand the road safety advice and practical cycling tips offered by the girls. There are interviews with local people, healthcare professionals and cycling experts from CTC and Sustrans’ local Bike It officer.

 

Following its première, ‘Pedal Power – The Way Forward’ will be featured on various websites, including www.greenbank.sefton.sch.uk, www.ctc.org.uk and www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland.

 

Southport and Ainsdale, as one of Cycling England’s Cycle Towns, is a lively hub for cycling activities, becoming a real centre of cycle expertise in the North West.

 

Introducing ‘Bike Club’ – enabling even more young people to use cycling to improve their lives

 

The success of young people’s projects like this has prompted an exciting new initiative to ensure that more young people have similarly rewarding experiences.

 

Bike Club is a new programme aimed at encouraging children and young people to explore the possibilities and freedom offered to them by cycling.

 

Just like the girls of the Greenbank High School, young people in youth clubs, after-school clubs and other settings around the country will be given chances to enjoy new experiences, freedoms and responsibilities, simply by seeing how much fun they can have on a bike.

 

Whether children and young people are meeting at a ‘biking breakfast club’, learning road cycling skills, having a go at riding off-road BMX, repairing old bikes, or finding ways to express themselves on two wheels, Bike Club will aim to give them these opportunities.

 

Bike Club is a partnership between CTC – the national cyclists’ organisation, youth club experts UK Youth and ContinYou, who specialise in providing rewarding experiences outside a conventional school environment. Bike Club officers will offer on-the-ground support in eight locations around England, including an expert based around the towns of Southport and Chester, both designated as Cycling Towns by Cycling England.

 

Additional funding for Bike Club has been pledged by supermarket chain ASDA, whose Pedal Power campaign will raise £1 million through activities such as chairman Andy Bond’s Land’s End to John O’Groats bike ride.

 

 

For more information contact CTC Cycle Champions officer in Sefton Juliet Jardine on 07717 503539 or juliet.jardine@ctc.org.uk or CTC’s Press Office on 0844 736 8453 or 07786320713.

 

Further specific information on Bike Club can be found at www.bikeclub.org.uk or by contacting Clive Andrews at clive.andrews@ctc.org.uk or 07717 721511

 

 

Notes to editors:

 

 

• CTC is the UK’s national cyclists' organisation, with 70,000 members and affiliates in 250 clubs across the UK. We provide a comprehensive range of services, advice, events, and protection for our members and work to promote cycling by raising public and political awareness of its health, social and environmental benefits. For more information, see www.ctc.org.uk.

 

• CTC’s Cycle Champions programme will improve the health, transport and environment prospects for individuals and communities across England who have historically not benefited from cycling.  In partnership with local organisations, our officers will work with volunteers to bring CTC’s knowledge and expertise to inspire, train and support 34,000 new cyclists who are currently inactive or at risk of inactivity.

 

• CTC’s Cycle Champions is part of a portfolio of projects being delivered by a consortium of leading walking, cycling and health organisations and is funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s Wellbeing Programme. The consortium is lead by Sustrans and includes CTC, Cycling England, British Cycling, Living Streets, London Cycling Campaign, the National Heart Forum, the National Obesity Forum, the Ramblers’ Association, Campaign for Better Transport and Walk 21. It is delivering projects that will enable 2 million people to become more physically active by walking or cycling as part of their daily lives by 2012.