A leading partner of KM Walk to School paid a special visit to one hard-working school for their green travel efforts.

Mat Mulvey of Countrystyle Recycling arrived at Walderslade Primary School in the wake of their fantastic Walk on Wednesday (WOW) achievements.

Walderslade’s Lime Class were crowned Walking Class of the Week and were presented with 30 free ice skating vouchers at Silver Blades Ice Rink, Gillingham.

Mr Mulvey, said: “It’s really great to see Walderslade Primary School being so heavily involved with the Walk on Wednesday scheme. It really helps to promote a healthier, more acitive lifestyle as well as support our precious environment. The pupils and staff’s dedication to green travel is very admirable.”

Paul Dadson, head teacher at Walderslade, was also keen to praise the initiative. “We are very passionate about walking to school. It gives our pupils a fresh and healthy start to the day which prepares them for learning as well as reducing a volume of cars outside the school gate and along the road. We are situated on a very busy and easily congested street, so services like Walk on Wednesday really do help to make our surrounding areas safer and greener,” he said.

KM Walk to School services are provided by the KM Group’s charitable division and also include Walking Bus, Active Bug and Green Footsteps. Collectively the schemes have removed more than a quarter million school run car journeys from the roads of Kent, Medway and Bexley this academic year.

The initiatives have also won five international Green Apple Environment Awards in the last 10 years, as well as receiving The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2005.

In September, both Walk on Wednesday and Active Bug will be merging to create super scheme Super WOW! and there is still time for schools to sign up.

Simon Dolby, chief executive of KM Walk to School, said: “We hope to see many schools already involved with our green travel schemes renew their contracts during the 2016-2017 school year, but we are keen to see many new schools climb on board and help us test-drive the brand-new Super WOW! As an educational charity, we care deeply about the well-being of the county’s children and walking to school is both a fun and rewarding way to ensure a healthier start to the school day.”

KM Walk to School is led by a collective partnership including Kent County Council, Medway Council and the KM Group. Organisations supporting the services include Specsavers, Safer Kent, Eurostar, Golding Homes, Countrystyle Recycling, Southern Water, Leeds Castle, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Orbit South, Whitefriars Canterbury, Maidstone Council, Ashford Borough Council, and Bexley Council.

The partnership operates green travel initiatives for schools including parent-led walking buses, the new Super WOW! scheme, and Green Footsteps.

For more information about KM Walk to School, and to find out how your school can get involved, visit www.kmwalktoschool.co.uk