Scottish Cycling: Rock Up and Ride Young People

A People and Place case study

Through our people and Place programme, we fund Scottish Cycling to run their Rock Up and Ride programme for young people in Fife. This fits into two of our People and Place themes – schools and young people, and capacity and capability building. The objectives of the Rock Up and Ride programme are:

• Reducing inequalities and providing more opportunities to cycle.
• Opportunities to engage participants in cycling who would otherwise potentially not consider it.
• Increasing confidence and competence of participants to encourage and achieve greater active travel engagement.
• Upskilling and developing a range of volunteers to lead towards long term sustained behaviour change in active travel.

Scottish Cycling works with various schools around Fife, delivering cycling sessions at school grounds and pump tracks to disadvantaged pupils. Engaging with the same students for multiple weeks helps to build commitment and the habit of cycling.

BMX sessions

Recently Scottish Cycling worked with pupils from Bell Baxter and Glenrothes High School for a six-week block of BMX sessions at the Riverside pump track. The aim was to help improve their skills and confidence and to help them become cycling/BMX coaches. Four pupils also received a BMX to help them on their journey.

This work was very successful despite a few sessions needing to be cancelled due to weather. The schools reported increased confidence in the pupils, and all made great progress, with many of them going from being unable to cycle to riding on the pump track within the six weeks. The students want to continue cycling and they will hopefully train as cycle coaches in the upcoming year.

One pupil from Glenrothes High School said how happy they were to receive a new bike and that they will be ‘heading straight home to show their parents before heading to the pump track’. The two pupils that received a bike from Glenrothes have shown great enthusiasm to continue to cycle and to take part in the coaching course which will be due to take place later in the year.

Two pupils from Bell Baxter were equally delighted to be receiving a bike. After a conversation with a member of the Rock Up and Ride team, where an offer was made to drop the bike off at their house, one the pupils said, ‘No its fine, this is going to be my new way of getting around Coupar from now on’. This pupil had walked 45 minutes from their house to the school and couldn’t wait to get on their bike and enjoy the freedom that it had now offered them. The second pupil was interested in being becoming a BMX coach and was keen to get qualified and take advantage of any future sessions taking place. They were due to leave school this academic year and saw this as a future employment opportunity as they move on from high school.