But when a fall did happen, their teacher Lisa King was first to provide comfort, a slight rub of the arm and plenty of words of encouragement.

Getting back on the bike after a crash was easy for more than half of these East Launceston pupils, who don’t own a bike – and many who do are without a helmet.

The day program came out of the state’s Bicycle Education Unit, which sent an email offering schools an activity that was popular decades ago when every child rode with an orange flag on the back of their bike.

But Mrs King, one of two EAL (English as an additional language) teachers, knew this lesson would last a lifetime for her grade 3 to grade 6 children.

‘‘When I saw it, I thought this would be perfect for our EAL kids,’’ she said.

‘‘We had a meeting for their parents with an interpreter and they were all very keen.

‘‘We were worried the girls wouldn’t want to do it, but they’re loving it.’’

Two of the children on Monday were even riding a bike for the first time, as they learnt about general road rules, riding near parked cars, stop and give way signs and giving way to traffic.

Mrs King said as a result of the  program some teachers at the school had rallied to donate second-hand bikes.

The 21 Afghan children previously lived in refugee camps in either Iran or Pakistan.