MORE than half of schoolchildren walk to school, figures released this week show.

But a third of all children are still travelling to school by car - even though many journeys are within easy walking distance.

Primary and secondary children from Wharfedale and Aireborough took part in the survey of more than 260,000 across Leeds.

And the survey carried out by Leeds City Council showed walking was the most popular choice.

However, journeys to secondary schools were different both in distance and the choice of transport.

Here, the most popular route was by bus at 40 per cent.

A third of children travel to school by car - causing congestion problems around schools which can then deter others from walking.

The survey was carried out in October last year by road safety officers and it will be repeated every year to discover the effectiveness of policies designed to reduce the use of cars for school journeys.

Councillor Elizabeth Minkin, executive board member responsible for transport, said it was an important survey that would mean the council being able to identify trends in school journeys.

"Going to school by car deprives children of the experience they need to learn road crossing skills.

"Throughout the region, we are trying to encourage children and parents to make the healthy choice. Surveys like this will help us see if we are succeeding."