A school in Weald has launched a walking bus scheme to fight against childhood obesity and calm local traffic.

Pupils at Goudhurst and Kilndown CE Primary School are using green travel for the school run in a bid to encourage regular exercise and cut road congestion. They are supervised by school staff and parents as they walk to school along a set route every Friday.

Walk to school coordinator Alicia Martineau said: “The scheme is a fantastic way of encouraging children to walk to school. The children love walking with their friends and earning prizes.

“They arrive at school more alert and ready to learn, which is great for the teachers. It is also a great way to keep more cars off the road and reduce the traffic in our village.”

The scheme is part of the KM Walk to School campaign, which succeeded in removing more than 208,543 car journeys from Kent roads last academic year.

Simon Dolby of KM Walk to School said: “Children who use walking buses associate exercise with having fun. It’s such an easy way to sow the seeds for a healthy lifestyle from a young age plus of course the community benefits from safer, less congested roads.”

KM Walk to School is a Kent County Council and Medway Council-led initiative supported by Ashford Borough Council, Thanet District Council, Canterbury City Council, Maidstone Borough Council, Specsavers, Countrystyle Recycling, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Mini Babybel, Chaucer Foundation, Eurostar, Southern Water, Orbit South, Golding Homes, Jelf Insurance Brokers, Independent Music Productions, Whitefriars shopping area and Leeds Castle.

For more information on walk to school projects, including Walk on Wednesday, Active Bug and Green Footsteps, visit www.kmwalktoschool.co.uk or call 0844 2640291.