Wheel-y great day! - as Bradford school celebrates Yorkshire Bank Bike Library opening

A celebration of cycling has been held at Fagley Primary School in Bradford to mark the official opening of its Yorkshire Bank Bike Library.

The school now has a fleet of bikes which are available for children and families to borrow for free. To accompany this there is also a newly built cycle track in the grounds to enable the school to host many more cycling events and activities.

Children, parents, cycling partners, and education professionals, all took take part in the fun filled afternoon which showcased all things cycling and Peter Dodd, Commercial Director of Welcome to Yorkshire, opened the event and spoke to the crowds about the opportunities this facility will provide.

Cycling themed dances were performed by year 5 and 6 pupils with years 2, 4 and 6 performing samba drumming. Cycling skills and drills were also facilitated by British Cycling and a Dr Bike event took place.

All children were encouraged to bring their bikes to school on the day to use the facilities and prizes were given out in competitions for the most skilled-up rider and the cleanest bike.

Also launched at the event was the school’s spring/summer timetable of activities. This includes balance bike training for early years while year 5 will complete Bike Ability and there will be transition bike rides for year 6 to their new uppers schools ready for the new school year in September. 

The school is one of the latest Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries, a project which aims to make cycling more accessible for children across all four corners of the county and give those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to a bike, the opportunity to borrow one for free. 

Peter Dodd, Commercial Director of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries, which create so many opportunities for fun, health and wellbeing but could also perhaps inspire the next Lizzie Deignan or Ed Clancy. The way Fagley Primary school has engaged with the project is impressive, getting even the youngest pupils onto bikes and even building a custom cycle track to really encourage participation. This won’t just have a positive impact on the children while they are here but hopefully start great habits of health and exercise that will last a lifetime”   

Chris Parfitt, Headteacher at Fagley Primary School, said: “With the support of Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries, we have really focused on developing and improving cycle skills for our children. The launch of the Bike Library and our very own cycle track in the school grounds is very exciting and means we now have the facilities to expand the opportunities for our children, perhaps a future Olympian cyclist in the making - how proud we’d be at Fagley Primary School to achieve that!”. 

Claire Greenwood, Family Liaison Officer at Fagley Primary School, said: “We’re focussed on the curriculum but things like this make a difference to children’s wellbeing and day to day resilience at school and opens up children to what’s out there in the world. The event was a wonderful celebration of cycling and kicked off our spring/summer programme of cycling events at Fagley, what a great way to start.”

The award-winning initiative was launched by Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Bank as a legacy of the Tour de France Grand Départ in 2014.