With the end of the summer holidays now behind us, the old perennial bugbear of the school run is doubtless becoming a talking point once again.

The older generation will tell you that walking to school never did them any harm, many modern parents say that with winter mornings approaching it isn't safe to let children walk to school alone, and rush-hour motorists will be cursing the glut of people carriers and 4x4s clogging up the streets around schools in the mornings and late afternoons.

All of them have valid points, which is why any attempt to break the cycle of the school run is to be applauded.

Crossflatts Primary School is forging ahead with its latest scheme to get youngsters out of their parents' cars - more children from the Bingley school cycle to their lessons than from any other school in West Yorkshire.

This has had the dual effect of reducing traffic at peak times and, perhaps more importantly, ensuring that the children get plenty of exercise and fresh air.

What has made the scheme so successful is that the school has been linked via a purpose-built cycle path to the National Cycle Network.

This is a key factor which other schools thinking about emulating the Crossflatts example need to consider.

Even without the school run traffic, our roads are terribly busy at peak times and the safety of any children who cycle to school must be paramount.

Dedicated cycle paths are the obvious answer, and it is to be hoped that any other schools who wish to be linked to nearby cycle lanes have their requests looked upon favourably by the powers-that-be.