Willenhall youngsters get a “wheel” buzz from bike project
Date Published : 01 September 2008
An innovative Walsall Council-supported project has put youngsters on the road to learning new skills.
The Willenhall Bike 2 Motor project has equipped 15 to 18-year-olds with basic bike maintenance skills as well as making them aware of road and general safety and encouraging them to work as a team.
It is funded by Willenhall Local Neighbourhood Partnership and delivered by The Willenhall School of Hope and New Invention Community Forum.
The young people involved chose to work with bikes, collected by The School of Hope, in various states of disrepair that had been given away by households across the Black Country.
They were able to get to grips with basic bike maintenance skills on the course which ran for 21 weeks.
As a result, a number of the donated bikes were brought up to Road Safety standards and the group has produced its own manual on bike maintenance.
Thanks to the British School of Motoring they have also been having driver training on a simulator and will be having introductory driver taster sessions at the School of Hope through BSM.
Willenhall North Councillor and LNP chairman Ian Shires, said: “This is something positive to come out of partnership working and all the young people involved were able to get so much out of it.
“They were instrumental in choosing the type of project they wanted and showed 100 per cent commitment to it. They are a credit to their community.”
One of the young people who attended the course, Craig Bolton, aged 18, said: “We all really enjoyed the practical workshop sessions the most and we have learnt a lot about road safety as well.”
Councillor Garry Perry, Walsall Council Cabinet member for communities and partnerships, said: “The positive feedback from both the young people and partners involved in the project speaks volumes about its success.”
New Invention Community Forum secretary Rupy Pandaal, added: “It was quite a challenge to put this project together and run it but we have worked together with Walsall Road Safety Team and Youth Services to deliver it successfully.
“The young group has enjoyed itself while learning new skills and are looking forward to getting their first experiences of motor car driving in a safe environment.”