Thousands of schoolchildren across Waltham Forest are taking to the streets to improve their health and celebrate Walk to School Week.

Forty-five primary schools, with 22,000 pupils aged from five to 11, signed up for the annual event which highlights the benefits of making journeys on foot.

From Monday (May 21) to Friday (May 25), participants will be given cards and encouraged to collect a star for each day they walk to school.

There is also a poetry writing competition for pupils to pen their thoughts about their journey to be in with a chance of winning tickets to the Feel Good Centre’s Extreme Park in Walthamstow’s Chingford Road.

The aim of the event is to educate youngsters about the benefits of walking which include increased energy, improved mental health and less congestion on roads.

Kate Jennings, head teacher of Mission Grove Primary School in Buxton Road, Walthamstow, explained why her school signed up for this year’s event.

She said: “At Mission Grove the children are very conscious about the world we live in and what we can do to look after it and ourselves.

“Walk to School Week is a great way for the children to do both; it helps them keep fit and encourages them to leave the cars at home to do a bit for air pollution.

“Our walking bus is one way that we try and encourage more children to walk to school every day.”

Selina Stevens, travel plan co-ordinator at Davies Lane Primary School in Leytonstone, said more and more parents are beginning to leave their cars at home and walk their children to school as a result of the event.

She added: “This promotes a healthier lifestyle for our school community and teaches the children the importance of walking and cycling more often.”

Schools which take part in Walk to School Week and other initiatives such as the annual Mini-Tour de Waltham Forest earn points towards accreditation with the Transport for London Stars scheme.

Forty schools in the borough have already signed up for the scheme and seven have achieved gold status.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for the environment, said it has become the new normal for pupils to be driven to school which can have a negative impact on their health.

He said: “It used to be normal for children to walk to school, but now they are often driven right to the school gates.

“This is not only bad for their own health, because they are not getting the essential exercise they need, but terrible for the health of their peers and the environment.”

He added: “What many people don’t realise is that they are exposed to higher air pollution in an enclosed car than when they walk or cycle on a main road.

“Through the Enjoy Waltham Forest programme we have been investing in prioritising pedestrians near schools, to encourage everyone, but especially parents and schoolchildren, to feel safer when walking around.”