Abstract
BACKGROUND: Active travel to school (ATS) provides an important source of daily physical activity and supports wellbeing. Despite policy interest, national evidence on school promotion of ATS is limited. This study aimed to: (i) estimate the prevalence and socio-demographic variations of ATS among 7–16-year-olds in Wales, UK; (ii) assess school support for ATS; and (iii) examine associations between individual and school-level factors and pupil-reported ATS. METHODS: Survey data were collected from 177,715 pupils (47.1% female) in a nationally representative sample: 51,662 primary school pupils (aged 7–11 years; N = 510 schools) and 126,053 secondary school pupils (aged 11–16 years; N = 201 schools). Pupil survey data were linked with a School Environment Questionnaire completed by school staff, capturing school-level ATS policies. Multilevel logistic regression models examined associations between pupil characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity) and school characteristics (socioeconomic status, location) and ATS, adjusting for clustering by school. RESULTS: Overall, 34.1% of pupils reported ATS, with higher rates among primary-aged pupils (p<.001). ATS varied significantly by age, gender, and ethnicity. Pupils attending medium- or high-socioeconomic status schools were more likely, and those attending rural schools less likely, to report ATS. Most schools reported at least one ATS policy (primary: 96.7%; secondary: 93.3%), averaging four policies per school, grouped into promotion, infrastructure, training, and partnership initiatives. Among primary school pupils, each additional policy was associated with a 5% increase in odds of ATS (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09); the trend among secondary pupils was non-significant (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.99–1.14). CONCLUSIONS: Schools are making considerable efforts to promote ATS, yet national findings reveal persistent inequalities by age, socioeconomic status, and rurality. These results underscore the need for targeted, context-sensitive strategies to ensure equitable access to active travel opportunities across educational settings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-026-26995-0.