OH, these heady days of traffic-free mornings in Worcester and no queues during the evening rush hour.

What a blessing the summer holidays are, and the dramatic reduction in traffic in July and August just goes to show how many extra vehicles the school run generates.

But, like the first display of Christmas trees, mince pies and crackers in high street windows, suddenly the all-too-familiar tale of rainy mornings in queues of congested traffic comes soon after the beginning of September.

But is there another way?

Evidence is pointing towards the fact that both parents and councils are finally beginning to see the benefits of getting schoolchildren out of cars.

From a motorist's point of view, the county and city council's much-heralded Project Express bus scheme, which launches next month, should - if it works - mean emptier roads.

But the whole idea of weaning children out of cars is aimed at making them healthier too.

A separate scheme, which has been running for a couple of years, is the Walking Bus, part of the Worcestershire County Council's Safer Routes to School project.

Parents in reflective clothing volunteer to accompany groups of children on their way to school, and pick up additional 'passengers' en-route.

Nicola Mountjoy from the Northwick area of Worcester has been one of the frontrunners in getting kids to school on foot.

She always made sure her children walked to the nearby Northwick Manor Infants and when the school launched its 'walking bus' scheme she was one of the first volunteers.

"The scheme is going from strength-to-strength with at least 15 children regularly involved," she said. "It has so many benefits. Children who used to be driven to school can walk and they get the chance to get fit and stay healthy, make friends with different year groups and learn about road safety.

"It also helps parents who go to work earlier because they can be assured their children are safely going to school with somebody responsible."

Northwick is one of the most congested areas of Worcester and a planning application to knock down the headquarters of workwear manufacturer Faithful to build a housing estate was turned down a fortnight ago when councillors said increased traffic would be particularly dangerous with schools so close. What's more, a report recently published in the British Medical Journal should give further encouragement to parents to move their children out of the car.

The study showed that children who go to school on foot remain more physically active for the rest of the day compared with those transported from A to B by car or public transport.

A team of investigators recruited four classes of about 30 schoolchildren and the results were pretty dramatic.

It clearly showed that walking to school creates a more energetic schoolchild who is likely to spend more time in sporty extra-curricular activities.

For the study, each child wore an accelerometer - a small device which detects running, jumping and other exercise.

On a typical weekday those who walked both ways did 123min 6sec of physical activity, 25 per cent more than those who went to school in a vehicle. Outside school hours, children who walked did 17 per cent more vigorous activity than those who took the car, bus or train.

While we might not have reached the stage where hordes of children walk all the way to school - as they did not so very long ago - getting them from cars to buses is the next best thing.

Lorna Phillips, Project Worcester's divisional support manager, says the city's new buses which pass by several schools should have a great impact.

"I've spoken to a few mums who think it's a fantastic idea, particularly one whose son feels too old to be dropped off by his mother now, but will get the new free bus instead," she says.

"In Worcester we are trying to make it clear that you don't have to drive. You can use the bus service, you can cycle or walk."

The council hopes bike racks at schools and at park-and-ride bus terminals will add to the benefits and is talking to schools to get their co-operation.

So, children are getting out of their parents' cars. Now, we just need the grown-ups to do the same.

THE DANGERS OF MOBILES AND TEXTING

IF you are going to walk to school, children, take off your earphones and definitely don't start texting at the same time!

A survey out this week shows as many as 30 per cent of 11 to 16- year-olds sometimes or often use mobile phones while crossing roads.

There are fears that mobile use is adding to road safety dangers.

The RAC and the charity 4Children say figures showed that teenagers are putting their lives in danger when walking to school.

The survey showed:

l Five per cent very often cross the road using a mobile and not looking properly.

l Forty-one per cent have been involved in a 'near miss' as a pedestrian.

l Almost 10 per cent of teenagers who have been involved in accidents say they were not looking or paying attention.

"Listening to Busted and phone videoing your friends while crossing the road is not conducive to road safety," says RAC Foundation executive director Edmund King.

An online trade in student essentials

MOVE over e-Bay. Some brainy entrepreneurial students have come up with a rival website to flog toasters, textbooks and all those other bits and bobs essential for university life.

Students at Oxford University have set up www.boso.co.uk which allows those with a valid university e-mail address to buy and sell items that they no longer need.

It is the brainchild of Oxford undergraduates cousins Kulveer and Harjeet Taggar. The website is not run for profit, and is staffed by 11 people, recruited through the Oxford Entrepreneurs society.

Set up eight weeks ago, the site has just under 1,000 members selling traditional items, such as textbooks and computer games, as well as the less conventional - like pints of old milk, which are currently going for £2. Better grab them before they go off!

A-level that stood the test of time

SO are A-levels getting easier, or aren't they? Most people who express an opinion either way don't really know, but an interesting experiment conducted this week might indicate that things are not what they were.

A student who achieved an A-grade in this year's maths A-level was given the task of completing the 1987 exam - and he failed.

Matthew Romu decided to try the older paper for Five News to put the standards of A-levels to the test.

"In this paper there were some things I hadn't studied," said Matthew. "They were very different, the way questions were worded, and the questions themselves are a lot different."

In the 1987 paper candidates had to answer seven questions from 20 options in three hours.

In this year's paper students were required to answer all questions set, with the help of a scientific calculator.

Fiscal policies on the curriculum

CHILDREN just have to learn that money doesn't grow on trees.

As if kids haven't got enough to learn already, a new Government report says more needs to be done to boost the teaching of financial education.

Pupils need to be taught to save their pennies, and with credit card debts spiralling, the Government says lessons on prudence need to be in the curriculum.

A review carried out for the Department of Work and Pensions found that the provision of financial education varied from school to school.

The Government has indicated that it wants to improve the profile of financial education, and it has asked the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to look at the possibility of including it in the maths curriculum as part of a review of GCSE maths.