More than 1,000 London schools have achieved the highest level of accreditation in Transport for London's programme aimed at reducing car use and increasing rates of walking and cycling to help benefit health and reduce air pollution.  

The TfL Travel for Life schools programme recorded 1,009 schools with Gold Accreditation at the end of August, representing a year-on-year increase of 283 schools.  

To achieve Gold status, schools must either reduce car use by up to six per cent or ensure 90 per cent of school journeys are made using sustainable transport. 

The programme, which has been running since 2004, is targeted at children aged 3 to 17 and is delivered in partnership with London Transport Museum and all London boroughs. 

Several areas showed particularly strong growth, with Barking and Dagenham, Harrow, Kensington and Chelsea, Lewisham and Westminster at least doubling their number of Gold-accredited schools. Harrow increased from 12 to 27 schools.

Waltham Forest leads with the highest proportion of schools engaged at any level, with almost nine in 10 participating. Lambeth recorded the biggest year-on-year increase, nearly doubling its number of engaged schools.

TfL's Chief Health, Safety & Environment Officer, Lilli Matson, said: "TfL Travel for Life has gone from strength to strength, empowering children to make safer and healthier choices about how they travel."

The programme forms part of broader transport initiatives, with TfL currently investing more than £87 million across London boroughs to create safer streets and new cycle routes.

The initiative supports TfL’s Vision Zero gaol, which aims to eliminate serious injuries and deaths from London's transport network, with provisional figures showing 47 per cent fewer children under 16 were killed or seriously injured in 2024 compared to the 2010-2014 baseline.