South Essex Parking Partnership's winner of school poster competition announced

To promote Walk to School month back in October, the South Essex Parking Partnership (SEPP) asked schools in Essex to get creative with a poster competition.

Schools across Essex were asked to design posters which represented the things they enjoy when travelling to and from school.

The aim of the competition was for SEPP and schools to work together to increase the use of 'active travel' in October (Walking, Scooting and Cycling), with the hope to improve other issues such as parking outside of schools and the improvement of air quality directly at the school gates.

The competition also helped to educate pupils of the health benefits which can be gained from walking, scooting and cycling a short distance to school.

Entries were shortlisted by members of SEPP, North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) and Essex County Council and a panel of judges selected the winning poster as well as the runner up.

Skye P, from Montgomerie Primary School in Benfleet was picked as the winner for the South Essex Parking Partnership (SEPP) area. Thanks to Skye, the school were presented with a Scooterpod and a large print banner of the winning poster design.

Skye received a framed copy of her poster, a certificate of achievement, a gold medal and other promotional goodies.

Wyburns Primary School in Rayleigh was chosen as the competition's runner up and the school was presented with a large sized print of their poster design, so they can display it outside their school. The pupil who designed the runner up poster received a framed copy, a certificate of achievement and some promotional gifts too.

Both schools currently operate the 3PR initiative and have '3PR Zone' outside their school which means that any pupil who enters the zone by foot, cycling or scooter will be rewarded with a token for their class. The class with the most tokens is awarded a cup at the end of the school year and becomes the 3PR Parking Champions. The scheme which promotes safer parking by walking to school rather than driving to school, has so far been rolled out across 26 primary schools in South Essex.

Mrs Amran, Deputy Head Teacher at Montgomerie Primary School said: "We were delighted to discover that Skye, in Year 2, had won first prize and we were thrilled to receive these wonderful prizes for the school.

"Since last year, the school has been taking part in the 3PR project to educate pupils in understanding road safety and to reduce congestion at the school's entrance. Since introducing this project, conversations with pupils about traveling to and from school are now part of our daily routine and we really have noticed a decrease in congestion outside the school gates. Our pupils are excited to collect their tokens every morning from our Year 6 3PR mascots and compete each week for extra playtime and to see which class can accumulate the most!"

The winning posters will be added to the 3PR website www.schoolparking.org.uk where other schools in Essex can download the poster and display outside of their schools to promote safer parking and other modes of transport to school.

Any primary schools who are interested in joining the 3PR scheme should contact http://schoolparking@chelmsford.gov.uk. To find out more about the 3PR scheme visit http://www.schoolparking.org.uk.