This week we held another wonderfully successful Walk to School Week. Blessed with glorious weather, staff and pupils have really enjoyed walking to and from school from all over London.
In honour of this, our Sustainability Ambassadors interviewed Mia in Year 12 who walks to and from school every day! They asked her a few questions about her daily walk, what she enjoys and how she keeps motivated!
“My walk to school is just under 2 miles (about 45 mins) in and out of school each day. I have walked into school ever since I can remember, my parents would drop me off at school and then continue walking into work, so I guess I have just gotten used to it.
I am very lucky that my route is pretty nice. It is very nostalgic since I walk past my primary school and often get to see my old teachers! There are also many scenic spots along the way including going past Battersea Park but my favourite by far would be walking over Battersea bridge, especially during the winter term because you can time it so you see the sun set.
I would honestly recommend walking into school, even if it is just for ten minutes. Aside from being very good for your general health, it wakes you up! It means that by the time I have gotten into school on a Monday morning I am not a complete zombie! Obviously, there are days when I am tempted to just get the bus (especially when I have a heavy bag) but I keep myself motivated by listening to music or podcasts. My go-to are true crime podcasts (like Crime Junkie) or my favourite playlist which is literally every song I know so that I never get bored of listening to the same stuff over and over. Aside from that, to keep me motivated, I treat walking in as my exercise for the day. I do minimal sports or any other form of exercise in my life but i still have quite a high level of fitness from simply walking every day. Lastly, I especially recommend walking into school if you have exams that day or even if you are stressed about upcoming exams. The walk will really help to calm you down and to focus your brain.
Walk to school week has a focus on sustainability and walking to school is one of the easiest ways of reducing your carbon footprint. Every little action helps, even if it is walking from the tube to school instead of taking the bus, even if it is just once a week, it would really help (both the environment and your personal health). If you want to start walking into school but you live far away, I would recommend starting by walking the last few stops of your train or bus route or get dropped off a bit further from school. Once you get used to this and more comfortable with it, you can start making your walk longer. I am so aware that most people would consider walking first thing in the morning the worst possible idea (especially if it involves waking up a bit earlier) but I genuinely couldn’t recommend it more. We only have a few weeks left of school, so I urge you to just try it out and see how it goes.”
Mia – Year 12
