Corby pupil wins national road safety poster competition

A Corby schoolgirl who won a national road safety poster competition has seen her design turned into a striking roadside banner encouraging drivers to slow down.
Alex Muir with Zak the ZebraAlex Muir with Zak the Zebra
Alex Muir with Zak the Zebra

Alex Muir, 11, won road safety charity Brake’s competition for children in Key Stage 2 with her ‘slow down, 20 is plenty’ idea, beating thousands of entries from across the UK.

Her winning design is now displayed outside her old primary school, Hazel Leys Academy in Gainsborough Road, Corby, where Brake mascot Zak the Zebra popped in to deliver prizes including a new bicycle, helmet and lights and a £100 craft hamper.

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Alex, who is now in Year 7 at Kingswood Secondary Academy, said: “I wanted to use a slogan that really communicated the idea of driving more slowly to people.

Alex with some of her prizes and the winning signAlex with some of her prizes and the winning sign
Alex with some of her prizes and the winning sign

“I was really proud when it was announced that I’d won during a school assembly.

“I didn’t know the banner would be up today so that was a shock but I’m proud and excited to see it.”

Hazel Leys principal Inga Bain added: “We’re so proud of Alex, she’s always been a star student and excelled at everything she does.

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“It was the icing on the cake that she should win this competition in her last few days at our school.”

Alex beat off thousands of entries to win the national competitionAlex beat off thousands of entries to win the national competition
Alex beat off thousands of entries to win the national competition

Nearly 7,000 children aged four to 11 from 500 schools nationwide entered the Brake competition, which is supported by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

Aiming to inspire children about the need for drivers to slow down so pupils can walk and cycle to school safely, it challenged children to create a poster about the dangers of adults speeding.

Dave Nichols, community engagement manager at Brake, said: “The poster competition was a fantastic opportunity for schools, children and parents to work together to help raise awareness about the dangers of speeding in their local community – something that puts kids’ lives at risk every day.

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“We were really impressed by the high standard of entries we received, but all the judges felt Alex’s design demonstrated real talent and knowledge about the subject.

Alex with some of her prizes and the winning signAlex with some of her prizes and the winning sign
Alex with some of her prizes and the winning sign

“A massive congratulations to Alex and Hazel Leys Academy.”

As well as being displayed outside Hazel Leys, Alex’s design will also be shown off on a second banner within the local community.

Sara Postlethwaite from Northamptonshire’s Safer Roads Alliance said: “It was great to see Alex’s winning design which was really bright and bold and gets a key message across.

“It’s so important to raise the profile of road safety with young people and I hope this inspires others across the county to be creative as well as remind everyone to slow down and drive safely on our roads.”

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