BIKE-loving youngsters have been given a confidence boost and their first taste of the open road.

Two dozen children took part in the first holiday courses organised by Lifecycle UK.

The Bristol-based firm came to the rescue of Swindon Borough Council earlier this summer, when it took up the Bikeability course contract. Another firm interested in offering the free schools-based cycling proficiency courses had to pull out at the last minute.

Ahead of the start of the new school term in September, Lifecycle UK offered 24 children aged between seven and 11 the chance to learn new cycling skills.

The two-day holiday course saw youngsters practice their skills on the soft rubber of the athletics track at the County Ground.

Organiser Jacqui Wilcox said: “The purpose of the two days is to give the children the confidence on the roads and the confidence of learning basic bike skills.

“We start off-road, using this fantastic county ground athletics track with lots of room. We gradually move up to cycling on the road, staring with quieter streets before moving up to more challenging roads.”

The instructors use traditional games like grandmother’s footsteps to teach cycling skills in non-traditional ways.

And while it is nice for the instructors to think that they’re encouraging a new generation of safer cyclists, Jacqui says the best part of her jobs is seeing “the grins on the children’s faces when they’ve captured a new skill”.

She added: “They’ve been great at encouraging each other. It’s been really lovely to see. We sometimes get them to cycle in pairs, observing each other and giving feedback. One will say to the other, ‘You’ve done really well.’”

Asked about their favourite elements of the course, the youngsters talked about learning the Highway Code and feeling happier on their bikes.

Kiana Thilakawardna, 11, said: “We learned how to exit junctions and signal with our arms.”

Jessica Clarke, 11, added: “I enjoyed feeling more confident on the road - and confident enough to take one of my hands off the handlebars.”

With the start of the new school term less than a month away, Lifecycle hopes to recruit more part-time cycle instructors from Swindon to support the new Bikeability courses.

“The sort of person we’re looking for is really enthusiastic about cycling generally,” said Jacqui. “They need to be a competent urban cyclist, somebody who commutes daily would be ideal.

“If they’ve worked with young children before or if they have some teaching skills that’s really useful.”

Would-be instructors who don’t have the relevant qualifications will be supported by the firm to take the four-day course and win the nationally-recognised certification.

Jacqui said of being an instructor: “I absolutely love cycling and its really nice to share that skill to support others to do the same.

It’s important in this day and age to encourage people to take alternative forms of transport.”

For more about becoming an instructor, visit: www.lifecycleuk.org.uk.