Schoolchildren in the North East are encouraging families to leave their cars at home and give walking a go this Walk to School Week (19-23 May) by dancing their way along the Newcastle Gateshead quayside in a Living Streets Dance Walk.

On Wednesday May 21, 200 pupils from 17 primary schools across North East England, including Tyne and Wear, Durham and Hartlepool, will get their dancing shoes on to encourage parents to ditch the car and try the school run on foot instead.

Led by our dance teachers, the children will make their way from the Tyne Bridge, along the quayside and over the iconic Millennium Bridge before finishing their dance walk in Baltic Square. Children from Tyne and Wear, Hartlepool and Durham will be taking part in the event organised by national charity Living Streets with sustainable transport programme Schools Go Smarter.

Our team will be delivering workshops with the school children at Dance City throughout the morning, offering fun opportunities to get fit and active. The Dance Walk begins at 1pm from Centre for Life and will finish at Baltic Square. On lookers are welcome to show their support and follow the Dance Walk along Newcastle Gateshead.

Living Streets runs the national Walk to School campaign, and the national charity says parents who walk find the journey to school less stressful, their petrol bill goes down, their children perform better at school and that they, and their children, feel healthier and fitter. Teachers even report that pupils who walk to school are more attentive once they reach their desks.

Living Streets is the national charity that stands up for pedestrians. With their supporters they work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.