School gets speedy lesson

One of Leicestershires smallest schools will be finding out if it is also one of the speediest this week with the help of the local bobby and his speed gun.

Hemington Primary School pupils will be joining Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Tim Hulse to measure the speeds of cars driving past the school on Main Street.

The children will measure the speeds at the roads busiest time during the morning rush hour. Local residents have expressed concerns that drivers are using the village as a through route to nearby East Midlands Airport, and the motorway.

The exercise forms part of Hemingtons School Travel Plan, which the school will work closely with the County Council to complete. A School Travel Plan is essentially a series of steps to reduce the amount of cars at the school gate, and to encourage children to choose healthier alternatives for travelling to school.

Anne Kingston, head teacher of Hemington said: One of the schools targets for the School Travel Plan is to reduce the speed of vehicles going past the school by an average of 5mph. This exercise is the first step in achieving that. Hopefully we can build up some data about how fast cars are currently going at the same time as getting the children to use their numeracy and ICT skills in a fun way.

Nicholas Rushton, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation said: This is a great way of getting the children more involved in road safety issues, and allows them to see for themselves the speeds that thoughtless drivers are reaching so close to a school.

Hemington Primary is currently being considered by Leicestershire County Council for an advisory 20mph zone with flashing amber lights under next years programme.

For more information on School Travel Plans visit www.leics.gov.uk/school_travel_plans