PUPILS have been putting their best foot forward in an attempt to encourage more of their number to seek a healthier and greener way to get to school.

St Hilda’s School in Harpenden set up a Walking to School Week, a student-led initiative which followed a survey revealing that the majority of girls got lifts from their parents on a daily basis.

The survey was carried out by members of the school’s eco team and a walking bus was established which has been proving extremely successful both with the girls and their parents, many of whom volunteered to ‘conduct’ the buses on their morning runs.

It set off every morning during the week from Amenbury Lane car park leaving at 8.15am and headmistress, Carolyn Godlee, said: “We at St Hilda’s are keen to embrace as many eco-friendly measures as possible. We’ve got our Eco-Schools bronze award and we are well on our way to our silver.

“The walking bus is a terrific idea and we are delighted by the large amount of support for the project from our parent body. We hope to build on the success of the walk to school week by encouraging more and more parents to embrace this healthy and eco-friendly alternative to travelling by car.”