In celebration of the national Clean Air Day campaign on Thursday 20th June, St Stephen’s Church Primary School at Lansdown had a party in the streets outside the grounds.
Celebrating Clean Air Day outside the school | Photo courtesy of St Stephen’s School
Children were encouraged to walk or cycle to school to protect the air from pollution and enable a safe place for everyone to dance and play.
Anyone who left the car at home was greeted with a pastry and a cup of squash and were asked to make a pledge to make the school streets safer and the air cleaner.
School travel ambassador Liz Rees said: “It is wonderful to see the children skip, play, dance and draw with chalk on the road before school starts.
“Often the area outside school can become congested in the mornings with cars dropping children off and this can present a safety issue.
“Today we are demonstrating the possibility of a healthier and safer school street, with no cars to contend with directly outside the school.”
The celebration involved children, parents, carers, volunteers, governors, and staff from the school who all wore the colour pink to mark the occasion.
Liz added: “The pink is a nod to our team of road safety volunteers who wear pink high vis to help the children cross the road safely and discourage parking on the yellow lines directly outside the school.”
The school’s deputy headteacher Louise Flynn helped to organise the day. She said: “We have appointed two junior travel ambassadors at the school who have made posters and often speak in assembly about the importance of road safety and reducing air pollution around school.
“It would be magical if we could enjoy a safe space on these roads before the school day starts every day, and we appreciate everybody playing their part to make this happen.”
