Warrington trained 81% of its Year 6 pupils, joint fifth in England. Bikeability is free here, and so is cycle training for adults who live or work in town.

Warrington reached 81% of its Year 6 pupils with Bikeability cycle training during the 2025/26 academic year, which the council says makes it the joint fifth highest-performing local highway authority in England. The figures come from the Bikeability Trust, which runs the Department for Transport’s national cycle training programme. (Warrington Borough Council)

Training in Warrington is delivered on the council’s behalf by BikeRight. Nationally, the Trust recorded 524,545 training places in 2025/26, made up of 460,465 Bikeability places outside London and a further 64,080 through its Get Cycling in Schools programme, and the programme passed six million places delivered since it began. (The Bikeability Trust)

One point of care on the comparison. The council sets its 81% against a national average reach of 54%, but its own figure is Year 6 only while the national one it quotes covers Year 5 and Year 6 together. The two are not measured on the same denominator, so treat the gap as a strong result rather than a precise 27-point lead. The ranking itself, joint fifth among English local highway authorities, is the more solid claim.

This is also not a one-off. The council’s own cycle training page records that Warrington trained over 3,000 children and teenagers in 2023/24 and took a national top ten place that year too. (Warrington Borough Council)

Cllr Hans Mundry, leader of the council, said: “Reaching 81% of our Year 6 pupils means thousands of young people are gaining valuable skills that will help them travel safely, confidently and independently.”

The part most residents miss

The headline is about Year 6, but the training on offer in Warrington runs from reception to adults, and all of it is free.

Breakdown of free cycle training available in Warrington: Bikeability Balance for reception and Year 1, Learn to Ride for non-riders from Year 3 upwards, Level 1 off-road bike control from Year 4, Level 2 on quiet local streets from Year 5, Level 3 for older children, teenagers and adults taught one-to-one or in groups of up to three, plus Bikeability Family for households and free adult training for over-16s who live, work or study in Warrington.
What the council lists on its cycle training page, and who each course is for.

The one worth repeating for grown-ups: if you are over 16 and live, work or study in Warrington, you can get free cycle training through BikeRight’s Freewheeling courses, from complete beginner upwards, individually or in small groups, at a time arranged with you. There is also a free Bikeability Family package aimed at people in the same household who want to ride together, including switching a driven school run to a cycled one. Both are listed on the council’s cycle training page rather than promoted separately, which is probably why so few people know they exist.

For children, the council says free Bikeability training is available to all children in Warrington through schools or on courses run during the school holidays. That second route matters if your child’s school year has already been through it, or if they missed the school session.

What the training actually changes

The Bikeability Trust publishes its own outcome figures rather than leaving the case to councils. Alongside the latest impact work, it reports that 93% of riders feel more confident cycling on roads after completing Level 2. The research published with it found that 84% of parents believe cycling gives children greater independence, that 89% would encourage their child to cycle on the road after training, and that six months on, almost a quarter of participants were cycling to school at least once a week. (The Bikeability Trust, Warrington Borough Council)

The Trust also says the programme has a three-year funding commitment of £78 million from Active Travel England, which is the answer to the obvious question about whether this survives the next budget round.

What it means for you

  • If your child is going into Year 5 or Year 6, ask the school directly whether it has a Bikeability date booked for the coming year. Warrington’s reach is high but it is not 100%, and the gap is made up of pupils whose schools did not run a session.
  • If they missed it, the council says courses also run during the school holidays, so the school session is not the only route.
  • If you are over 16 and live, work or study here, the adult training is free, including for people who have never ridden. That is unusual and it is not advertised loudly.
  • Level 3 covers commuting. It is taught one-to-one or in groups of up to three and includes route planning, so it is the practical option if you want help working out a specific ride to work or school rather than general skills.
  • Check what is dug up before you plan a route. Several of the town centre active travel schemes and road projects are still in progress; our roadworks and travel page tracks the current closures, and the traffic-free trails in things to do in Warrington are the low-stress places to practise.

Full course details and the council’s contact address for cycle training are on the council’s cycle training page. If your school has struggled to get a session booked, or you have been through the adult training and want to tell us how it went, we would like to hear from you: hello@warringtonwire.co.uk.