One very cold morning in November, at 8am, Mr MacDonald was joined by Miss Theobald and School Council members Dee Whyte, Emily Booth, Hannah Cork and Harry Gunning at the back gate. The purpose was to look at the traffic going into and out of town in the morning, particularly when our students are arriving at school. Quebec Road is a very busy road and there have been accidents there in the past. We want to highlight the importance of road safety, not only to our students, ensuring that they cross at an appropriate place, they can be seen and are paying full attention to the road, but also to road users and ensuring they are aware that students are crossing and that they need to be more cautious.
Adorned with hi-vis vests, some drivers must have wondered why we were there, however it did mean that more and more were paying attention. Some cars were even stopping to allow students to cross safely. Students were getting the special treatment of having 2 members of staff see them safely across the road, whilst the School Council members completed a traffic survey. It was really surprising the number of cars, vans, buses and lorries that drove past in such a short space of time.
We were joined by the roadside by Mr Michael Rose, a trustee of Unity Education Trust, who is also a local resident. He was interested to speak to students who walk this way to school on a regular basis and to hear from their point of view, how tricky it can be, particularly in the bad weather or dark. Trisha, a local resident, who walks along Quebec Road every morning, also said ‘the traffic can get very busy. Sometimes you can see cars going past, probably at 50mph. Having Mr MacDonald present every morning has had a positive and noticeable impact as you can see cars slowing down more, however more could still be done.’
We’d like to thank Mr MacDonald in particular, who is the back gate every morning, ensuring all of our students are safe when crossing. It really does make a difference having a visible presence there and highlighting to everyone the importance of road safety. It was a real insight for the School Council members who helped out.
