How bikes are transforming learning at Deanwell School
What began as a simple question from students has grown into something much bigger at Deanwell School.
When staff listened to students, they discovered many children either couldn't ride a bike or didn't have access to one at home. At the same time, teachers were noticing another challenge - students thrived during structured activities but struggled with independent play.
Instead of treating those as separate issues, Deanwell School found one solution that has transformed learning across the school.
Today, bikes are everywhere.
Students aren't just riding them. They're writing about them. They're learning science through them. They're exploring simple machines, road safety, geography and even literacy using bikes as the common thread connecting learning.
Principal Pam Quirke says the project was never really about bikes.
"It started because we had a problem to solve. We wanted our children to be able to play independently, be active and engage in meaningful learning. The bikes became the vehicle that made all of that possible."
Supported by Sport Waikato staff and Sport New Zealand’s Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa funding (administered in the Waikato region by Sport Waikato), community partners, cycling educator Gordon from Alba Bikes and funding partners, the school now has around 50 bikes that are used throughout the week as part of teaching and learning.
But before students ever climbed onto a bike, teachers undertook their own professional learning, developing the confidence to teach cycling safely while understanding how it could support the curriculum.
That investment has paid off.
One of the biggest moments came when Pam met a new student sitting on the sidelines because she couldn't ride.
"She told me she couldn't ride a bike. Straight away her teacher said, 'We'll get her riding.' That was the moment I realised how far we'd come. A few years ago that would have been normal. Now it stood out because almost everyone else could ride."
The benefits have extended well beyond the learning with the school recording significant improvements in attendance, with many more students now arriving by bike or scooter!
Families have embraced cycling too, with children encouraging parents to wear helmets and ride safely alongside them.
Inside classrooms, bikes have become the context for rich learning. Students investigate forces, simple machines and engineering, while literacy lessons build vocabulary through real-world experiences they can see, touch and explain.
Rather than sitting alongside learning, bikes have become the catalyst for it.
Sport Waikato Professional Learning Manager, Nikki Willis, says the success came from listening first and then building strong partnerships around the school's vision.
"This wasn't about delivering a programme. It was about helping the school bring their own idea to life and connecting them with the people, funding and expertise to make it happen."
As Deanwell School prepares for the next phase, students will soon take their learning beyond the school gates with community rides, navigation and road safety experiences.
For Pam, the biggest success isn't measured by the number of bikes.
It's seeing children who once couldn't ride confidently exploring their world, solving problems together and discovering that learning doesn't always happen sitting at a desk.
