In addition to winning in Sandwell, Moat Farm Junior School was also ranked fifth nationally and the best school in the West Midlands.

Moat Farm Junior School has won a School Walk of Fame Achievement from Living Streets, the UK charity which champions everyday walking.

Pupils at the school have been taking part in the charity’s initiative WOW (Walk Once a Week) – The Walk to School Challenge.

The scheme encourages children to self-report how they travel to school every day using the interactive day WOW travel tracker.

If they travel sustainably, that is walk, wheel, cycle or scoot, once a week for a month they are rewarded with a badge.

During October, to coincide with International Walk to School month, Living Streets runs the national competition for all primary schools, measuring how many pupils walk to school and how often during the month.

More than a thousand schools in England took part in the challenge and the leader board is based on journeys recorded between the 1st and 31st of the month, and so to be placed in the top ten is a huge achievement and reflects a high level of consistent active travel to school.

The school has also been rewarded with Commonwealth Games equipment to help schools push forward on physical activity as part of the legacy of the Games.

Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for Adults, Social Care and Health, said:

“It’s great how the children at Moat Farm are showing the way to get healthy and help the environment not just to other schools in Sandwell, the West Midlands and nationally but also demonstrating to adults and the wide community how and why they should also walk and cycle more often.”

Mrs Scotney, Head of School, added:

“As a school, we recognise the positive impact that regular exercise has on children’s physical and mental wellbeing. We are committed to providing our children with plenty of opportunities to exercise and understand how good it is for them. This is why we signed up to take part in WOW. It is a simple, fun and effective way to encourage children to be more active on the way to school. Our children love self-reporting how they get in to school and are really proud when they achieve their badges. Children are always so excited to show their badges to teachers and each other. “

Many of the children also shared their thoughts:
“I like being a WOW Ambassador because I love to encourage other children to be healthy and stay active on the way to school!” – Amreet, 9

“Walking to school helps protect the environment by reducing the time we spend in cars and helps us get healthy. The badges we earn are made using recycled plastics.” – Leila, 9

“I enjoy walking to school because I get to walk with friends. Staying active keeps your heart healthy.” – Orlaigh, 8

“I Park and Stride because I live far away. It allows me to stay involved and earn badges!” – Ivy, 7

“I love the Travel Tracker, as it gives us the opportunity to see how others get to school and you can earn badges with amazing designs on them.” – Rubie, 10