Two County Down schools have qualified for the finals of the Northern Ireland Primary School Road Safety Quiz following the North Down & Ards area heat held on Monday, 6th February 2017, at the Clandeboye Lodge Hotel.
Glencraig Primary School came out on top, followed closely by Ballymagee PS and Greyabbey PS.
The top two schools will now compete against 20 other teams in the NI final, which will be held at the NI Fire & Rescue Training Centre, Belfast, in February. This year, the competition for P7 pupils received a significant boost with a Department for Infrastructure Road Safety Grant, allowing the quiz to run across all 11 council areas for the first time.
Organised by Road Safe NI, the quiz aims to raise road safety awareness among primary school children, a vulnerable road user group. It includes questions on road safety, road signs, and general knowledge.
All participating children signed the Department of Infrastructure’s Share the Road to Zero pledge and received a certificate. After the heats, the quiz questions will be available for primary schools to use in their classrooms.
Mrs S McKirgan Principal at Glencraig PS, said
“We are delighted to win the North Down and Ards area heat of the NI Road Safety quiz. It is vital that all children receive Road Safety education. The School’s Road Safety Quiz is a fantastic initiative and all involved should be congratulated. It also lends itself very well to implementation within schools and will provide a novel and interesting approach to reinforce and consolidate the important message of safety on our roads.
Terry Malcolm, Chairman of North Down & Ards Road Safety Committee commented,
“The quiz is a great event for the kids in the area. We believe that the earlier that they get information on road safety the safer they will be and they will carry the message throughout their lives. We would like to thank all who helped including Translink for the gifts for all who participated and all teachers and parents for taking part and to all the committee volunteers who helped out”.
Tony McKeown from event sponsors CRASH Services said,
“As a Northern Ireland based business we are delighted to be able to support the Primary School Quiz. We are involved in accident management and breakdown recovery services, so we have a close connection with road users and we are pleased to get involved with road safety projects like this.”
