CYCLING popularity is set to move up a gear in the Borders after every P6 pupil received safety training in the past academic year.

Scottish Borders Council (SBC) is one of just nine local authorities to have achieved a 100 per cent delivery rate of the Bikeability Scotland courses.

And the feat is on track to be repeated this year.

The playground-based sessions are delivered to all P6 classes across the region, normally over the course of three days in each primary school.

East Berwickshire councillor Carol Hamilton, executive member for developing our children and young people, said: “The Bikeability programme has gone from strength to strength over the last few years and it is great to see so many schools engaging with the team to deliver the programme. It is now viewed as a core part of pupils’ learning in many of our schools.

“Supporting and encouraging young people to get on bikes and use them for fun, for competition and for travel is critical to us being able to deliver on the long-term vision of the South of Scotland Cycling Strategy, where cycling is embedded in the lives of people in the region and is the most popular choice for shorter, everyday journeys by 2032.”

Over the last 12 months the council’s outdoor education team has worked with more than 1,100 pupils to increase cycling confidence, develop hazard perception and awareness, and promote active travel.

David Collins, Bikeability Scotland manager at Cycling Scotland, said: “The Scottish Borders’ achievement of delivering Bikeability Scotland on-road cycle training in every primary school in the area – one of nine local authorities in the country to achieve 100 per cent delivery and the largest in terms of school numbers – deserves to be celebrated.”

Alan Vannan, headteacher of Lauder Primary School, added: “This is an excellent programme for the P6 children in the school and there is a real sense of equity in the delivery model adopted by the council, with the SBC instructors providing all the bikes and helmets for the children. That brings a sense of fairness to the training – everyone is the same and no one is left out.

“These instructors are also specialists in delivering the cycling skills training and ensure the children have an enjoyable experience whilst learning about how to keep themselves safe. It is a great moment when after just a few hours the instructors can get a nervous cyclist riding with confidence.”

The South of Scotland Cycling Strategy aims for the region to be recognised as the country’s leading cycling destination and a world class cycling centre of excellence.