Cycling to school is great for children, it keeps them active and alert, and fosters independence in their lives outside of school.
Many of us at Cyclehoop felt the benefits of cycling to school as children ourselves, so we’re thrilled to help give the next generation the same opportunity.
In 2024 we launched the Cyclehoop Education Fund; we award a percentage of our annual profit to schools in need of new or improved cycle parking. We invited schools from across the UK to pitch for a grant package that includes not only funding, but our industry leading products, services and expertise.
Last years’ winner was Hebden Royd Primary School in West Yorkshire. Their submission clearly demonstrated the impact that new cycling and scooting facilities would have, including data on their catchment area, maps and the number of students who would benefit.
In March 2025, we visited the school and ran a workshop on cycling and active travel with the pupils – it was amazing to see their creativity and enthusiasm. The students were asked to imagine their dream bike, and a place to park it. First prize went to a student called Aurora, who designed a turtle themed bike which parked in its own shell – ingenious!
The team surveyed the site and with the space available we were able to install a child sized clear bike shelter with racking for 10 bikes, and a scooter rack with space for 10 scooters. We even made stickers from Aurora’s turtle design for the children to decorate the shelter.
The impact has been tremendous, with Headteacher Rob Paton noting that the shelter had been full almost every day since installation.
While high quality weatherproof cycle parking is an important element to help children cycle to school, the work of training and advocacy groups such as The Bikeability Trust and Modeshift are also pivotal, as is the work of transport planners and highways authorities to ensure that there are safe routes for children to get to school. Investment is needed in all these areas to enact further change.
We’re delighted to help inspire the students of Hebden Royd to embrace pedalling and scooting on the school commute. We’d like to thank all the schools who applied and we wish them all good luck in the 2025/26 edition.