St Michael's Primary in Dumfries has teamed up with Connaught Partnerships Ltd and local police to introduce safer and cleaner ways of travelling to school.

In a bid to improve air quality and safety levels around their school, over 180 pupils competed to design brand new traffic signs which will be positioned in key areas around the school where traffic has been identified as being a real problem.

Mrs Dennise Sommerville, head teacher of St Michael's Primary, said: "Traffic congestion and increasing pollution is a growing concern for the teachers, parents and community of St Michael's.

"Thanks to the work of the school's Eco-Committee, with the support of Connaught Partnerships Ltd and Dumfries & Galloway Police, the children have designed four new traffic signs which we hope will encourage drivers to slow down and drive more carefully when approaching the school."

Designs for the competition covered everything from speeding cars to hedgehogs and turtles however the artistic works of Oskar Spelmeyer (7), Sara Carson (9), Rosalind Burns (10) and Dale McCubbin (12) grabbed the attention of the Connaught judging panel.

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Martin Morrison, area director of Connaught, said: "We are delighted to support the parents and staff of St Michael's Primary in working towards a healthier and safer environment for the pupils. While working on home improvements in the area the issue of traffic safety is one we have become increasingly aware of and by working with the school, police and Lidl we hope we have gone some way to addressing this while also encouraging the pupils to adopt a healthier lifestyle."

The Eco-committee enlisted the help of local retailer, Lidl, to set up a park and walk scheme whereby parents can park their cars using the supermarket car park nearby and walk the short distance to the school. The school has also been encouraging parents to take part in "Walking Buses" and "Walk to School Week" to give pupils the opportunity to employ a fitter and healthier means of travelling.

PC Ewan Cannon, Dumfries & Galloway Police, said: "We are extremely pleased that the children of St Michael's Primary School are thinking of their own safety and that of the environment.

"It is widely known that travelling to and from school can be dangerous for young people and we hope that these signs will remind local drivers to be careful and be aware of the nearby pupils.

"We must thank the children and our partners for using their imagination and thinking of road safety, adopting a healthy lifestyle and considering the environment."

Refurbishment and maintenance specialist, Connaught, has secured two new contracts with Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership (DGHP) to the value of £50m.

The contracts cover the maintenance of 10,600 homes over the next five years and the installation of 6,000 bathrooms and 1,200 kitchens across the Dumfries and Galloway region.

(GK/JM)