OVER the last 12 months, students from Manor School and Oaklands School in York have been testing their mountain bike skills in Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire.

Under the watchful eye of qualified staff, the students can experience the thrills of the skills zone or challenge themselves on the technical cross country routes.

Mike Kilmartin, school sports coordinator at Manor, said: "The students have a fantastic time. The forest provides a technical challenge for both the beginner and the more experienced rider. The students from both schools have shown themselves to be very adept at coping with whatever challenge is put in front of them."

He added: "Dalby Forest is a fabulous place to enjoy the outdoors while getting fit."

The whole project has been made possible through the Big Lottery Fund (BLF), which provides money for Out of School Hours activity, which increases opportunities for young people to participate in sport and physical activity.

Mountain biking is part of other outdoor activity being offered to young people to try to ensure a wide range of options. It is hoped, through these activities, that those young people who currently do not engage in traditional team sports will find an activity they can enjoy.

To ensure equality of access to this initiative, the Oaklands School Sports Partnership have bought 15 mountain bikes for young people to use, and included a maintenance contract with it for the young people to learn how to look after the equipment.

The BLF has also enabled the Partnership to send eight members of staff on a mountain bike leaders course to comply with health and safety regulations.

It is hoped the programme will develop further over the next year with increased levels of activity. One such activity will be more local trails for primary school children, led round Knavesmire or local parks so they can get a first experience of biking Andy Pope, Partnership development manager, said: "Outdoor adventurous activity enables the Partnership to target different young people and increase participation. We are also able to offer them the chance to experience the challenge in a fresh environment.

"This is a great opportunity for young people in the Oaklands Partnership to get out into the country and experience something new and exciting."