THOUSANDS of children will be taught how to safely ride their bikes as this year’s Bikeability programme begins once again.

As the new school year gets underway, Durham County Council’s Road Safety Team is offering Bikeability cycle training to year five and six pupils across the county.

Over 2,500 children were trained in the last academic year with the aim to train a further 1,250 pupils this year. The ultimate goal of the project is that no child will leave primary school without being given the opportunity to take part in the training.

Alan Kennedy, road safety manager, said: “As roads get busier and more and more people have cars it’s even more important that young people are given the chance to learn basic yet often vital skills to enable them to ride their bikes safely.”

Durham County Council’s Road Safety Team has secured funding from the Department for Transport to deliver training across County Durham schools over the next two years.

Training is offered at three different levels; Levels One and Two are taught together and cover basic cycle control skills on the playground, before moving on to on the road training which takes place on quiet roads amid vehicles.

Level Three is for secondary school students and training is delivered on busier roads incorporating more complex junctions. Bikeability is managed locally by Durham County Council’s Road Safety Team who provides the instructors, who are accredited to the National Cycle Training Standard.