Bikeability Level 3 course advanced cycling on busy main roads
This Bikeability Level 3 course is for children aged 11 or over who want to improve their skills after successfully completing Bikeability level 2.
It will give children the confidence to tackle a wider variety of traffic conditions on more challenging roads and junctions.
The 2-and-a-half-hour course is for children who live or go to school in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole. It covers:
- responding to hazards
- making ‘on-the-move’ risk assessments
- passing queuing traffic
- understanding advanced road positioning
- hazard perception and strategies to deal with them
- understanding driver blind spots, particularly for large vehicles
- reacting to hazardous road surfaces
- route planning for safer cycling
Please note Bikeability Level 3 is only for children aged 11 and above, who have already completed Bikeability Level 2 and want to improve their skills on more challenging roads and junctions. Do not book a place on this course if your child has not completed Level 2 unless you have discussed this with the Road Safety office first (Tel: 01202 127 867/123982). Their cycling skills will be assessed at the beginning of the course and if the instructors do not feel they are ready for this course, they will not be able to take part.
Not every child is ready for Level 3 after completing Level 2, so talk to your child's instructor at the end of their Level 2 course to find out if they feel they are ready before booking them a place.
Please note that we do not allow the use of BMX bikes on a Level 3 course due to the restrictions they place on the rider's vision and mobility.
Booking
BCP Council schools are offered delivery of free Level 2 (Residential Road Cycling Training) courses for their entire Year 5 and Year 6 group, with secondary schools also being given the same opportunity for their older year groups. We will then identify which pupils are ready for their Level 3 Advanced Cycling Training and a date for pupils to access this advanced course will be arranged with the school and communicated to the parents of those pupils. Funding is provided for schools to access Bikeability training for their pupils for free and we offer courses both during and after the school day, working with the schools to fit this around the school day for their greatest convenience.
The school day is the best environment for children to learn these very important on road cycling skills and the children's mindset during the school holidays is not always conducive to being able to concentrate fully to safely understand and respond to the seriousness of the training involved. Therefore, we are not planning to run any more public Level 3 Bikeability courses until the summer holidays, when we may run a very small number of courses.
We would therefore ask that you contact your child's school to find out when they are holding their Bikeability Cycling Training and if they have not yet booked this with their Bikeability School Coordinator, to contact us.
Cost
Courses are charged at £5 per person, which is fully refundable if you cancel from the course with at least 24 hour’s notice.
Our Bikeability scheme is part subsidised by The Bikeability Trust, via DfT funding.
Contact us
When you book your child on a course, you’ll be given a number to contact us and mobile telephone numbers for your child's instructors on the day.
Sometimes emails may get caught in the junk or spam folder, so do check these if you’re expecting an email from us.