Cycling proficiency tests are set to be re-introduced into schools in England.
Organisers say the Bikeability award scheme will give children a more realistic experience of coping with road conditions.
The launch in April follows a pilot project which involved more than 5,000 children in eight regions.
The government is putting £10m into children's cycling, which will pay for around half of all 10-year-olds to take the Bikeability course.
It is estimated that more than 90% of youngsters have never cycled to school.
Bikeability is run by Cycling England, a body set up by the government to encourage children and adults to cycle.
In the last 10 years the number of trips taken by bike is estimated to have fallen by on-fifth.
Unlike its predecessor the Cycling Proficiency Test, which generally took place in the school playground, many of the Bikeability tests are carried out on the roads.
Children are taught the kind of observation, road positioning and defensive driving tactics that new motorists learn.
Cycling England has said it hopes that within five years all school-leaving children will have passed the test.
In the pilot scheme, which involved Merseyside, Exeter, Essex, Cornwall, Manchester, Hertfordshire, the Isle of Wight, and Kingston, in London, nearly 10,000 badges were awarded
First published on the BBC Website|