OKEHAMPTON Primary School's Year 6 pupils are among the many children across Devon benefitting from Devon County Council's Bikeability scheme.

All this week children in Year 6 have been taking part in Level 1 and Level 2 Bikeability courses. The national initiative provides cycling proficiency for the 21st century and has been adopted by Devon County Council as the cycle training standard in the county.

Last year, nearly 9,000 children took part in Bikeability training in Devon, a record for the county. Among them were 2,000 Year 3 and 4 children who benefited from additional funding from the Department for Transport set aside specifically for basic skills training.

Devon County Council has secured £264,000 of funding from the DfT to provide cycle training for another 6,600 children in 2015/16.

The scheme has recently been endorsed by elite mountain bike trials rider Andrei Burton. He said: 'Cycling is my passion; being on my bike gives me a sense of freedom and is also great fun. It's everything I've ever wanted to do.

'I never imagined I'd be where I am today, but all the practice was worth it. Learning the basics, through Bikeability, is so important, and learning to ride your bike confidently can take you anywhere, there's no limit to the possibilities. There are so many different types of rider out there but I hope tomorrow's cyclists will all have one thing in common – a lifetime of safe riding that begins with Bikeability.'

Bikeability and adult cycle training is provided throughout the county by The Plymouth School Sports Partnership on behalf of Devon County Council.

More information on cycling in Devon or Bikeability courses is available at http://www.cycledevon.info">www.cycledevon.info or on Twitter follow @CycleDevon.