MANY thanks for this fantastic photo of the incredible Dringhouses Primary School children who launched Bike to School week for us (April 20).

It is staggering to imagine more than 170 children and their parents cycling into school. And what a scene it was. Happy, smiling faces and not a car in sight.

But Dringhouses were not alone in their efforts. At the Our Lady's Primary School bike week launch 154 cycled in to school (although we somehow managed to serve 200 bacon and veggie sausage butties), which is equally amazing when you consider there are only 205 in the whole school.

The remaining two Bike-It schools, Millthorpe and All Saints' Lower, also had large numbers of children cycling in for launches this week. The regular bike counts we make at these schools outside of special events such as Bike To School Week show they now have the top averages of children cycling in York. We suspect they will be among the top in the entire country.

We at Sustrans are delighted by this news as are the green transport charity which organised Bike To School Week and which runs the 10,000-mile national cycle network.

Bike-It is a pilot project with only a small amount of funding from the bicycle industry and just four officers working with 40 schools in the entire country.

Results such as these will add weight to our campaign to get British schools to follow York's example. They then could choose the healthiest way for their children to travel and clear cars from the school environment, keeping our children safe, fit and happy for life. Congratulations to our wonderful York Bike-It schools!

Vicki Hill,

Bike-It schools officer,

Sustrans,

Fulford Cross, York.

Updated: 09:54 Saturday, April 23, 2005