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Taylor Wimpey supports ‘Walk Safe’ initiative in Hamilton

11th November 2009 Print
St John's Primary School Children

Leading housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is helping to ensure the safety of primary school children in Hamilton, by donating over 300 highly fluorescent zip-clips to pupils at St John’s Primary School in Hamilton. 

 

Launched in conjunction with International Walk to School Month (October) and part of a wider initiative to keep children safe on their walk to and from school as the clocks change back to GMT and the shift from Autumn to Winter begins, the Taylor Wimpey zip-clips will be a colourful addition to the school-walk and can conveniently be attached to a child’s winter jacket or their school-bag.  Their reflective properties, in a rainbow of pink, green, yellow or orange will make sure the children can maximise their visibility to traffic.

 

St John’s Primary School, near the company’s Bryant Homes development at Wellhall Grange in Hamilton is delighted to be involved as Anne Turnbull, deputy head explains:  “The Walk to School initiative asks children to increase the number of times they walk to school, and actively encourages parents and teachers up and down the country to leave their cars at home.  Our focus at St John’s Primary School is to inspire children to get into the regular habit of walking and to enjoy the health benefits it brings.  The donation of Taylor Wimpey’s zip-clips is a great way of rewarding the children for their efforts, whilst helping to improve the children’s visibility in a fashionable way.”

 

Willie Burns is managing director for Taylor Wimpey West Scotland: “Taylor Wimpey is always keen to find innovative ways in which it can contribute to the local communities in which we build.  Our donation of over 800 zip-clips throughout South Lanarkshire is a fun way to take part in the Walk to School challenge, whilst also offering the children an ideal way to improve their visibility – particularly at this time of year. 

 

“We hope these cool zip-clips will help to keep the children safe over the winter months, as well as add some stylish colour to their school-bags as they increase the number of times they walk to school!”

 

National charity Living Streets, who are celebrating their 80th birthday this year, work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets around the UK.  They run the highly successful Walk to School campaign, which encourages children, parents and teachers up and down the country to leave their cars at home and walk to school. 

 

Teachers often report that those pupils who walk to school are more attentive in class.  And it’s no surprise – the levels of physical activity undertaken by primary school age children are often greatly overestimated by parents.  By simply walking to school and back each day, the average child will already be close to meeting the recommended physical activity levels of at least 60 minutes every day.

 

Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive of Living Streets comments: “Walking is a brilliant way to get some physical activity and some fresh air into your day.  When children are bundled from front door to car door, they miss out on the opportunity to socialise with friends, get to know their community, and burn off some energy before getting their heads down in the books.  By encouraging families to ditch the car keys and get to school on foot, will show that it’s not just PE lessons that are needed to give children the healthiest start in life – it’s how active they are in their daily life that really matters.”

 

For information on Taylor Wimpey developments throughout the region visit taylorwimpey.co.uk.

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St John's Primary School Children