Year 7 students at Varndean School got ‘Streetwise’ in a bid to keep them safe as they travel to and from school.
Streetwise, a new hard-hitting Theatre in Education show which highlights the dangers of getting distracted while walking along familiar routes, was performed as part of a tour by the Performance in Education Theatre Co which visited nine schools in Brighton & Hove.
The initiative was funded by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership with revenue from speed awareness courses, where drivers pay to go on a course in exchange for having license points waived.
The Streetwise show is aimed at students starting a new journey to secondary school and asks them to consider the risks around phones, mp3’s and chatting/ messing around when crossing the road. It also includes:
- Creating real life strategies to overcome peer pressure / peer influence around poor road safety
- Encouraging the use of school crossing patrols and pedestrian crossings
- Increasing students’ knowledge of how to remain safe when using the roads
Headteacher of Varndean School William Deighan said: “The performance has added to the ongoing work we are doing at Varndean School to improve the safety of our students' journeys to and from school.”
Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee said: “Starting Secondary School is often the first time that students travel to school alone so this is a great way to get a road safety message across.
“Therefore it is good to see that schools like Varndean are taking positive steps to highlight the dangers of getting distracted when walking with friends and make sure their students arrive safely at school.”
There is more information on the website