Longden Primary pupils design new road safety signs
With their signs are (l-r): Teddy Frank; Alfie Metliss; Marnie Lowrie-Herz; Bethany Downes; Arrabella Thomas
Road safety signs designed by pupils at Longden Primary School will soon be seen on roads near the school to remind drivers to drive slowly through village.
In March this year the school launched a ‘go slow’ campaign to improve the safety of children attending the school.
As part of the campaign pupils were invited to design a road sign. Twenty were designed and the top five have been chosen by Shropshire Council and the school and made into signs.
The five winning children were presented with their signs on Tuesday (12 December 2023).
The winning children were Teddy Frank, Alfie Metliss, Marnie Lowrie-Herz, Bethany Downes, and Lottie and Arrabella Thomas.
The signs will now be in place on the approaches to the school.
Pictured with the winning children are (l-r): Ben Collins (Kier); Councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight; Councillor Roger Evans; Jacinta Walton (school governor)
Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and education, said:
“Ensuring the safety of the county’s school children is hugely important so we’ve been pleased to work with Longden Primary on these new signs. Some fantastic designs were produced by the children and it was really hard picking a final five. I now look forward to seeing the signs in place as soon as possible.”
Sally Johnson, headteacher at Longden Primary School, said
‘We have been working together as a school and village community to highlight the location of our school in Longden. We are fortunate to be tucked away in beautiful surroundings, but that means sometimes people don’t know we are here and so aren’t aware that children and families may be crossing the road at different points in the village.
“The children’s designs are informative as well as eye catching, and we hope that these will help road users and pedestrians to think about their speed in and around Longden. Thank you to everyone who has supported this campaign, particularly the children, parents and wider community.”
Roger Evans, Shropshire Councillor for Longden, said:
Both the Parish Council and I have long been concerned about the speed of vehicles passing through the village. Many representations have been made including requests for signs to remind drivers to both slow down and that there is a school in the village. Our congratulations to all involved in designing these signs, and we wait to hear when the projected 20mph limit will be introduced in this area.”
Longden Primary is set to be included in the first phase of the programme to introduce 20mph speed limits outside Shropshire schools. Shropshire Council will shortly start to carry out engagement with the first batch of schools, as well as the local councillors whose divisions the schools fall in.
