Walking to school has earned one group of youngsters a visit tom Leeds Castle.

Pupils of Neptune Class at Brunswick House Primary School, Leafy Lane, Maidstone, got top marks for walking to school, winning the KM Green Footsteps trophy for the Maidstone area and free tickets to Leeds Castle.

All 29 children in the class now walk to school.

Two other Maidstone schools also achieved 100 per cent – Tiger Class at Molehill Copse and 5C at Palace Wood Primary – but Neptune class won because they had the greatest number of families switching to walking compared to the start of the scheme.

Neptune class teacher Mrs Barnett said: “The children have been very enthusiastic about walking to school this year.”

Primary schools in Maidstone taking part in Walk on Wednesdays, or WOW, have taken 27,002 car journeys off the road between October 1 and March 3 2008.

This is the highest number of car journeys taken off the road compared to the other 11 district areas of Kent.

More than 150 primary schools in Kent and Medway have signed up to take part in WOW and the Walking Bug, which is organised through a partnership of Kent and Medway councils and the KM-inspired walk to school charity.

Leeds Castle donates two free child entry tickets to each pupil in the winning class and the scheme is also backed by a £10,000 donation from HSBC, as well as being supported by the Jade Appeal, Co-op and the Chatham Maritime Trust.

Julia Smith of HSBC Maidstone said: “This is a fantastic initiative and seeing first hand how the children respond is wonderful. We are very pleased to be involved and a key supporter.”

Both WOW and Walking Bug schemes encourage children to walk to school with their family and friends.

Each child has their own tally card and collects stickers when they walk in.

Jackie Chambers from the KM Green Footsteps team said: “We are very excited, as the feedback we have had so far reveals that WOW and the Walking Bug are having a very positive influence on the volume of school-run traffic affecting Kent’s streets.”

Schools keen to join the WOW or the Walking Bug schemes can contact the Green Footsteps/WOW team by emailing greenfootsteps@kentwalkingbus.org or by calling 01227 825383.