The Bike Project

At Welling School we are proud to support a wondeful charity called "The Bike Project". Their mission is simple, "get refugees cycling". 

The UK is bursting with opportunities – but it’s also expensive. Especially when you’re trying to navigate the complex asylum process on just £49.18 a week, or even as little as £8.86 a week if living in catered accommodation. At The Bike Project, they believe that no-one should have to choose between eating a square meal and catching the bus. That’s why they give bikes to refugees and people seeking asylum. Please watch the video below to see the wonderful impact of The Bike Project :  

How we support The Bike Project...

Since September 2019, students at Welling School have enjoyed learning how to renovate old bicycles, ranging from mildly neglected to seized solid with rust, and bringing them back to life, as close to good as new as possible. Our repairs and servicing range from fixing punctures to fully stripping a bike to its bare frame, then thoroughly cleaning every component before rebuilding, making all the necessary adjustments and safety checks to ensure the bike is safe to use.

During their time in the workshop, students gain knowledge and experience of important workshop practice, including correct and safe use of appropriate tools and equipment, and the use and purpose of fluids such as WD40 and mechanical grease and oil. Aspects of the Science curriculum will also be encountered, such as the pros and cons of friction when riding a bike, (grease on your bearings helps them run smoothly, but is not good on your brakes!) and the correct torque pressure settings to tighten particular parts of the bike correctly and safely.

All the bikes we work on are donations from members of the public, and once we have completed between 15 and 20 bikes, they are collected by The Bike Project, a charity which supports needy people in the community, mainly refugees and asylum seekers, by giving them a bike. For many people this can mean the difference between getting to work or not, so our students are involved in an important community service.

Predominantly aimed at our "Aspire" pathway students, this process all begins in our Autumn term with our Y9 students. The rationale behind starting with our Y9 students is the belief that over time, these students will act as peer mentors for our younger students. 

As the year progress, the bike project experience is opened up to both Y8 and Y7 students in the Spring and Summer terms, with Y9 students acting as peer mentors for our Y7 students. 

Throughout the year, we have several collection dates where representatives from "The Bike Project" visit our school and collect the repaired bikes ready for redistribution to those that will really benefit from them. 

This really is a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore the wider curriculum and develop skills that are perhaps not always available in mainstream education. It is also really rewarding for our students to have such a positive impact with the local community.