Fifty Heston students attended a workshop with Community Cycleworks who “passionately promote cycling as a viable mode of transport that improves riders’ health and well-being, reduces air pollution and just makes you smile.”

The practical, hands-on workshop, covered basic bike repair and why cycling is good for both riders and the planet.

The activities included: 

• Tyre removal and inflation  
• Puncture repair (patching)  
• ABC checks and quick repairs 
• Route planning and benefits of cycling

It was great to see the students so engaged in the activities and learning new skills. It was fascinating to see how Google Maps can show the bike routes, especially the level of incline, the most direct and the quieter routes as well as where the cycle lanes are. The route planning sessions compared different modes of transport at different times of the day. It was surprising how much faster it was to cycle, especially during rush hour.   

Well done to all students who participated in the workshop!

Mrs Hardy [Assistant Headteacher/SENDCo]

“I really enjoyed the Bike Workshop. I learnt so much, so quickly. I was a little nervous at the start when I first arrived, but the workshop staff were so friendly that I relaxed. All three staff members were nice and explained everything in an easy way. They taught us how to fix our bikes in three different ways.

The first part of the workshop was learning how to check the bike. It was A, B, C, D. This means; A-air, B-brakes, C-chain and D-direction. I really enjoyed learning this and it is an easy way to remember for the future.

The second part was learning how to pump the inner tube in the tyre and checking for damage or holes. It was very new to me, and I had never done this before, so I learnt something new.

The last part of the workshop was learning how to remove the inner tube to fix a puncture. We watched her take the tyre off and thought it looked difficult, but she explained it well and I was able to do it.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself and now I know how to fix my own bike. It was a great workshop.” Zainab Sakhie [11R]

“I enjoyed learning how to fix a bike. Now I can fix my own bike when it breaks.” Cain Gassie-Williams [7B]

“I liked pumping up the inner tubes on the tyres and learning how to patch up a tyre.” Mousa Daud [7G]

“I learnt how a tyre on a bike works and what to do if it gets flat.” Patryk Tomaszewski [8P]

“I enjoyed learning about how to check the breaks.” Stephen Odejdele [9R]

“I learnt how to fix a bike and enjoyed pumping up the tyres.” Zakir Arman [10W]

“I learnt how to replace the wheel on a bike which was interesting.” Ayush Busawah [10W]