Back to the Future with Bike Ed

I remember tracing the lines of the basketball court on my BMX at Northam Primary School in Year 4 in 1986 as part the school’s Bike Ed course. We were learning the rules of the road and how to manoeuvre our bikes safely. Fast forward 35 years and I’m still in a Bike Ed class, only now my class mates are all adults too. What’s really comforting about this is the enduring nature of riding a bike and the freedoms and challenges that come with this. We really believe this at Margaret River Primary School, and that’s why we asked AusCycle to conduct instructor accreditation for some of our staff.

Recent changes to the Department of Education Outdoor Education policy require accreditation to ride with students in off road settings. We take all of our Year 4 students on Bike Camp each year and we offer mountain biking as a sports option for Year 4 – 6 students in Term 1 and Term 4. Why do we do this? Because we live in a unique environment that offers us all the chance to spend time in nature on a bike. We have a network of world class mountain bike trails that are expanding every year and we believe that it’s important that we teach our students how to ride safely and how to take care of the environment that these trails are set in.

Our students enjoyed watching their teachers being put through paces and this was actually a really important part of the process too. We are all learners and just because we have grown up (a little) doesn’t mean that we don’t love being on a bike and learning new tricks. This is how we all Grow and Achieve together.

Written by Aaron Thomas; Photos and posted by D. Veary