Hope Valley College are one of the first Schools to build a mountain bike trail on their school grounds. Adding an extra dimension to PE and giving the pupils a chance to polish up their skills before heading out in the Peaks right on their doorstep.

1. 'Developing cycling at Hope Valley
College:
building a trail and developing curriculum
and community engagement'
Richard Beeden
Hope Valley College

4. 11-16
Comprehensive
600 Students
Specialist
Technology, Arts
and Applied
Learning school
(with G&T)
82% A*-C
Over 25 feeder
primary schools
50% + out of
catchment area

5. Modern education is all about personalisation – curriculum
diet and opportunities: BTECS, Diplomas etc…
 We have developed our PE curriculum in much the same
way: Climbing wall, extensive range of sports.
 We have extensive fields bordered by a river – these
borders are unused and were an obvious choice for a trail!
 Location – world class natural trails – if you are relatively
fit and confident!
 The students – mountain biking is popular amongst the
students and in the local communities
 Community engagement. We have a responsibility to be at
the heart of our local community , and have a thriving adult
education centre and host many local events. The trail
offered many opportunities to develop community activities
 ECM
But… we needed to find funding!
Why did we do it??

6. We have built a small trail that offers many coaching
opportunities, with areas for further development
It has cost the College a relatively small amount of money
We have had fantastic support from Derbyshire Local
Authority, local businesses, CTC and Bike Club
It has been a huge task to build the trail despite all this
support – How can we help other schools if they choose to
build a trail or cycling resource in the future, including BSF?
Headlines

7. Facts and Figures:
Original concept: The students!
Funding:
Overall Cost: £14000
Cost to HVC: £7000
Build Cost: £7000
Funding:
Youth Opportunity Fund: £4500
Applied Learning fund: £2500
Stone: Donated by La Farge and Furness Brothers
Approximate value of donation: £7000
Health and Safety Consultation : Derbyshire County
Council
Course Design: CTC/HVC
Project Management: Hope Valley College
10 Bikes and storage (funded by Bike Club): £2500
Bike Lockers (10) Derbyshire County Council: £5000
Trail
Length:520m
60cm wide
30cm deep
40mm – dust
limestone infill

10. Building the Trail: Dave Howe Landscaping
October 2009 – 4 weeks

16. CTC Trail Building Day
Ian Warby from CTC
22 March 2010

23. Engaging the wider community:
Guided Rides
Under 18’s
Hard to reach groups – how?
Bike maintenance and building
Coaching – when?
Primary school students – how?

24. 10 bespoke Cycle lockers
DCC Grant
£5000.00

25. Trail Opening
Wednesday 14 July

27. ‘A centre of excellence for cycling’
 Participation
 Bike Club one lunchtime/week
 Cycling in core PE lessons
 Recreation
 Bike Club – Guided Bike rides.
2/month, one on-road, one off-road
 Travel
 10 Bike lockers purchased
 Enjoyment
 Encourage more cyclists
The Future
Hard to reach groups
Primary and secondary visits
Competitive cycling – how?
Coaching

28. What are the issues?
 Cost – trail, bikes, storage
 Health and Safety – risk assessments etc..
 Space
 Staff expertise – using the trail, project management
 design and build - expertise
The benefits:
 Engagement – PE, out of ours, extra-curricular
 Can use previously un-used space
 Contributes to ECM agenda – ‘be healthy, stay safe
 Excellent community engagement
 Excellent opportunities for student leadership
Can trails like ours be replicated in other
schools?

29. Risk Assessment for building and managing a cycle trail in
school
Trail Inspection Plan
Trail consent form
Bike Club documentation
Strategic cycling Plan
Guide to building a trail in a school environment
Documentation