Southsea pupils join monstrous new road safety campaign

Youngsters at Wimborne infant and junior schools have joined the Pompey Monster Walk to School Challenge.

The scheme, run by Portsmouth City Council, aims to get more youngsters walking to school regularly.

Running for seven weeks, children will scoop monster-themed prizes for each week of the challenge they complete.

To be successful, the pupils need to walk to school at least three times a week to win one of the seven Pompey Monster keyrings – all with their own road safety themes.

The scheme was piloted last year at three schools in the city and proved a success.

Jackson Richards, 10, is the head boy of the Southsea school and is excited to back the drive.

He said: ‘Road safety is really important because it helps us walk to school safely and can prevent pollution.’

The campaign is set to be rolled out to other schools in the next coming months.

As well as encouraging children to walk to walk more often its other aim is to get less parents driving to school and clogging the roads nearby.

The initiative has areas away from the schools where parents can drop off their children who can then walk to lessons with their friends.

Liz Burchett is a road safety officer at the city council. She said the campaign aimed to make children more aware of dangerous practices.

‘We want to change behaviours,’ she said.

‘Children can cross the road from between parked cars or run out into the roads without looking. That’s why we want to move cars away from schools.’

The campaign runs from, October 2 to November 17.