Top of the class, St Colum's

School pupils right across Northern Ireland have been rewarded for their efforts to use more sustainable transport during the 2017/18 Translink Eco-Schools Travel Challenge - and one Portstewart school is celebrating!
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Jun 2018, 17:36 BST
Updated 19th Jun 2018, 16:48 BST
Pictured (L-R) Thomas Campbell (St Colums Primary School pupil), John Thompson (Translink), Rosie Crocker (St Colums Primary School pupil), Nigel McAfree (Translink), John Campbell and Rose McKenna (St Colums Primary School pupils), Dr Ian Humphreys (CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful), Laura Dysart, Ryan and Trasa Passmore (St Colums Primary School pupils).Pictured (L-R) Thomas Campbell (St Colums Primary School pupil), John Thompson (Translink), Rosie Crocker (St Colums Primary School pupil), Nigel McAfree (Translink), John Campbell and Rose McKenna (St Colums Primary School pupils), Dr Ian Humphreys (CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful), Laura Dysart, Ryan and Trasa Passmore (St Colums Primary School pupils).
Pictured (L-R) Thomas Campbell (St Colums Primary School pupil), John Thompson (Translink), Rosie Crocker (St Colums Primary School pupil), Nigel McAfree (Translink), John Campbell and Rose McKenna (St Colums Primary School pupils), Dr Ian Humphreys (CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful), Laura Dysart, Ryan and Trasa Passmore (St Colums Primary School pupils).

Over a two-week period, 28 local schools completed the ‘Translink Eco-Schools Travel Challenge’ with 3078 pupils monitoring their travel patterns and making an effort to walk, cycle, use the bus or train for the school run.

There was a massive shift away from car use to sustainable travel with 32,992 sustainable journeys made.

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St Colum’s Primary School in Portstewart - along with Blythefield Primary School, Belfast, Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast and Longtower Primary School, Derry - were the top performers encouraging pupils and parents to choose more environmentally-friendly transport modes.

Speaking at a special prize presentation, Translink Health & Safety Manager, John Thompson, said: “Congratulations to all 28 schools who successfully completed the travel challenge! You’re what we call in Translink – ‘Smartmovers’ – because you’re all making smart choices about how you travel.

“You’ve shown a real understanding about how Northern Ireland needs to address the issue of congestion in our towns and cities and care more for the environment to keep Northern Ireland moving and growing.

“The good news is that more and more people in Northern Ireland are choosing public transport with a record 81 million passenger journeys last year – the highest in the past 20 years – and we’re committed to further Infrastructure development, product innovation and sustained vehicle investment to attract even more people on board the bus and train.

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“We would like to thank local schools for participating in the Challenge. It’s been really encouraging to see many participants make a 100% shift away from car travel and we hope they continue to choose sustainable transport in the years ahead,” said John.

Related topics:Northern Ireland