Three Special National Road Safety Week Posters Win Prizes

Portsmouth FCs impressive home league victory over Hartlepool United was cheered by over 1000 local school children who were there supporting both their local team and #SaferJourneys this winter.

National law firm Irwin Mitchell joined forces with Pompey in the Community to deliver travel safety training to three schools in Portsmouth and run a poster competition to raise awareness of staying bright when out on the road at night.

The #SaferJourneys campaign aims to reduce unnecessary incidents on the road and reinforce a safety first approach when the clocks go back and there’s an increased chance of difficult conditions. 

Pompey in the Community is a charitable trust affiliated to Portsmouth Football Club who employs qualified coaches to look after, support and help develop children throughout the city.

Cottage Grove, Medina Primary and Ark Aryton primary schools all supported the initiative and took part in a walk to school with Portsmouth FC’s official mascot Nelson before having an assembly on how to stay safe on the roads. 

All the children were invited to enter into a competition for which they had to design a poster depicting what road safety meant to them in Portsmouth.

The winners of the competition were Anisah, Rithika and Ruby and they got to be Nelson’s puppies at the match against Hartlepool and got the chance to meet the players and go out on the pitch before the match.

Max, Bella and Elijah were all named runners up and received a ball each signed by all of the matchday squad. Morgan, Brody and Poppy were given £20 worth of amazon vouchers each for finishing in third place.

Expert Opinion

“This was a great opportunity for us to work alongside Pompey in the Community which does such great work to make sure that children of Portsmouth are aware of what they need to do to stay safe on the roads.

“The training was delivered to approximately 1,000 pupils during the course of the week and the winning entries from the competition were fabulous. It was a pleasure to see them all enjoying themselves on at Fratton Park.

“In our work we see the devastating and life-changing impact collisions on the road can have on those involved and that is why we’re running a #SaferJourneys campaign to help improve safety and raise awareness.

“We’re asking children, friends and families to find time to review the A-Z and follow these simple messages when ice and snow starts to appear around the country in the New Year.” Ruth Johnson - Senior Associate Solicitor

Clare Martin, Director of Community Projects at Pompey in the Community, said: “Pompey in the Community are committed to encouraging youngsters to become more active and walking to and from school is one of the ways we can encourage physical activity. 

“The opportunity to be able to work with Irwin Mitchell to make children aware of the importance of road safety whilst walking is fantastic and we enjoyed a fun and interactive week.”

The A-Z can be viewed here.

The #SaferJourneys website can be viewed here.