Children Enter Irwin Mitchell Colouring Competition

Six year old Agnes from Archibald First School in Newcastle has been named the winner of law firm Irwin Mitchell’s colouring competition to highlight the importance of road safety this winter.

Over 300 children from six primary schools in the North East coloured pictures as part of the firm’s nationwide #SaferJourneys campaign which is running throughout the winter when weather conditions deteriorate and the dark nights draw in.

Northumbria Police joined Irwin Mitchell at a special assembly to present Agnes with her prize, an iPad Mini and £300 Amazon vouchers for her school, and to reiterate key road safety messages.

The competition originally launched during National Road Safety Week when the children were asked to create an eye-catching poster which illustrated what road safety means to them.

Agnes’ picture was named the overall winner but there were runner up prizes for the best entry from other schools.

 Jemima, 9, from Darras Hall First School finished second and won a £50 book voucher and £100 amazon vouchers for her School. Salma, 6, from Wingrove School finished third overall and was rewarded with a £20 book voucher and a £50 book voucher for her school.

The #SaferJourneys campaign will continue until the clocks go forward in February and aims to reduce unnecessary accidents and raise awareness of a safety first approach.  

Francesca Mayes, a specialist serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, helps people who’ve sustained life changing injuries after road collisions and knows how important it is for everyone to take responsibility and pay extra attention when out and about this winter.

Expert Opinion

“We spend time working with schools in the local community in Newcastle to educate young children on the potential dangers on the road at winter and the role they can play in keeping everyone safe.

“Through our work we see how serious a lapse of concentration can be and therefore talking about road safety and raising awareness of how to act can help reduce the possibility of avoidable accidents.

“It’s great to be able to work in partnership with the Police to run a competition which gives children time to think about safety on the road. All of the entries we received were fantastic so thanks to everyone who made a poster and congratulations to the three winners.” Fran Mayes - Partner

Northumbria Police have helped supported the initiative and Chief Inspector John Heckels, Head of Motor Patrol, attended the special assembly to share tips and advice with the children.

He said: “With Christmas around the corner there is no better time to remind children of simple yet potentially life saving road safety advice.

“They may still be at the age where ice and snow is fun and exciting but by talking to the children we can help them understand how dangerous it can be if they’re not safe and sensible.”

Julia Bayes, Deputy Head Teacher at Archibald First School said: “The health and safety of all our children is really important to us. The colouring competition during Road Safety Week helped us to promote awareness of safe road use at home and at school.  We were of course delighted that Agnes was awarded first prize and will put the school’s vouchers to good use.”

As part of #SaferJourneys campaign national law firm Irwin Mitchell have produced a Road Safety A-Z to remind drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians of all ages to unite together and be safe this winter.

The A-Z can be viewed here.

The #SaferJourneys website can be viewed here.