LITTLE Olivia Pooley thinks nothing of walking to school with her pals.

The eight-year-old is just one of 19 pupils who regularly make their way to Ludlow Junior School in Woolston on the Walking Bus.

Mums and dads take it in turns to supervise the youngsters as they walk the 15-minute journey from Woolston Infant School.

Now, two years after the pioneering scheme began, other schools are being encouraged to follow in their footsteps by organising a safe route to school with a timetable of stops just like a real bus.

It is just one of the ways of encouraging more children to use their legs as part of Walk To School Week.

For one of the walking bus parent co-ordinators, Sally Pooley, 42, the scheme has numerous health and social benefits.

"I know that when I drop off Olivia she is going to be looked after and will be completely safe," said the mum-of-two.

"It's all about safety in numbers. The children enjoy having a bit of exercise before school and chatting to their friends too."

Similar Walking Bus schemes in Southampton operate at Bevois Town Primary School, Shirley Infant School and Wordsworth Infant School.

During the past five days, 45 schools across Southampton and 65,000 Hamp-shire schoolchildren have received extra encouragement to walk to school as part of The Pedestrian Association organised week.

Posters have been put in schools and wall charts placed on show so that each child who walks to school can put a tick next to their name.

As a reward, Walk to School stickers and bookmarks have been distributed to pupils.

Carol Bagshaw, Southampton City Council's sustainable travel manager, said: "The Walk to School week is only the start of what we are doing.

"We are supporting schools to develop new travel plans and find alternative ways of getting to school."

Teachers have welcomed the Walk To School initiative but stress that sometimes parents have no other option but to drop off their children by car.

The head teacher of Ludlow Junior School, Jeannie Gibbons, said: "Events like this help but we also have to remember the stresses on working parents."

Karen Ainger, a teacher at St Monica Junior School in Southampton, said the number of youngsters walking to school had increased during the past few days with at least half arriving on foot.

79 per cent of primary school students live within walking distance (less than two miles) of school but only 54 per cent walk.

In 1976 only 15 per cent of children went to school by car, that figure rose to 37 per cent 20 years later.

On schooldays the school run accounts for 17 per cent of traffic.