At High School Leckhampton in Gloucestershire, climate action is being shaped by student voice. In 2025, a fantastic 96% of students took part in InterClimate Network’s Climate Action Survey – giving the school a clear picture of current climate behaviours, key barriers, and what motivates action.

Partnering with their Let’s Go Zero Advisor, the school have used insights to shape their climate action plan – setting priorities based on what matters most to them.

Introducing Lockhampton Gold

Climate Action Survey insights have supported the student Eco-Committee’s Lockhampton Gold campaign—a fun, creative campaign that rewards students who cycle to school. Here’s how it works:

  • 🚲 Each week, one lucky bike is chosen at random to receive the Golden Lock.
  • 🥪 The rider wins a free lunch, thanks to funding from Cheltenham Borough Council—secured through a successful, student-led funding bid.

The Eco-Committee launched their campaign to the wider community at the Change Makers’ event at Cheltenham’s Wilson Gallery, where students showcased alongside other schools from the Cheltenham Education Partnership.

Watch their brilliant launch video here:

Tackling barriers

But it’s not just about incentives. The Climate Action Survey, alongside additional research by the school, revealed that many students feel unsafe walking or cycling to school—citing poor infrastructure and fears about travelling in the dark.

To fix this, the school propose a new ‘missing link’ path across Lotts Meadow, which would connect an existing park path to a cycle pavement. The current issue? It’s muddy, inaccessible for bikes, and blocked by awkward gates. The alternative? A much longer, dangerous road route.

Proposing solutions to decision-makers

In June 2025, ICN brought together local decision-makers to hear directly from the Eco-Committee on their research and proposed solution for improving active travel access to school. In the room were:

  • Sarah Williams Principal Transport Planner; Strategic Infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council
  • Councillor Richard Pineger, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency at Cheltenham Borough Council
  • Audrey Healy from the Benefact Group, funders of the research reports.

We were really pleased that all attendees agreed that the proposed new path was a practical solution that made sense—and Sarah from GCC walked the proposed route herself.

See the eco group’s presentation here:

Now we are looking forward to finding out and supporting next steps.

Written by
InterClimate Network

InterClimate Network