P7's pit their wits in road safety quiz

A team from St. Brigid's Primary School, Mayogall, near Magherafelt, has won the regional heat of the Northern Ireland Primary School Road Safety Quiz held at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine.
Rasharkin Primary School who gained third place in the regional heat of the Northern Ireland Road Safety Quiz for primary schools organised by Road Safe N.I. at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine. Included is Chief Inspector Ian Magee, Peter Melarkey, Joan Kinnaird, and Sam Knox, Road Safety Council and Sydney Henry, Roads Policing and Alison Gilmore, Classroom Assistant, Rahsarkin P.S.Rasharkin Primary School who gained third place in the regional heat of the Northern Ireland Road Safety Quiz for primary schools organised by Road Safe N.I. at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine. Included is Chief Inspector Ian Magee, Peter Melarkey, Joan Kinnaird, and Sam Knox, Road Safety Council and Sydney Henry, Roads Policing and Alison Gilmore, Classroom Assistant, Rahsarkin P.S.
Rasharkin Primary School who gained third place in the regional heat of the Northern Ireland Road Safety Quiz for primary schools organised by Road Safe N.I. at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine. Included is Chief Inspector Ian Magee, Peter Melarkey, Joan Kinnaird, and Sam Knox, Road Safety Council and Sydney Henry, Roads Policing and Alison Gilmore, Classroom Assistant, Rahsarkin P.S.

The Primary 7 pupils comprising Ella Shaw, Charlie Curley, Conall McNeill and Michael Scullion faced eight rounds of testing questions incorporating both road safety and general knowledge and emerged triumphant over 14 other schools at a packed Lodge Hotel, Coleraine.

Chief Inspector Ian Magee presented the trophies to the Co. Derry school who will now go on to compete in the finals at the Fire & Rescue Training Centre, Belfast on Monday, February 20 along with runners up Roe Valley Integrated Primary School. In total, eleven regional heats have now been held with two teams from each region progressing.

Organised by Road Safe N.I. the Coleraine heat was the first time that all schools in the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area had been brought together for such a major event.

Barnish Primary School pupils pictured before the start of the N.I. Road Safety school quiz at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine.Barnish Primary School pupils pictured before the start of the N.I. Road Safety school quiz at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine.
Barnish Primary School pupils pictured before the start of the N.I. Road Safety school quiz at the Lodge Hotel, Coleraine.

Members of Ballymoney Road Safety committee, Sam Knox and Joan Kinnaird, who are also key figures in Road Safe N.I., helped co-ordinate the event along with the PSNI’s Roads Policing representative, Sydney Henry, and two other Road Safe N.I. members, Peter Melarkey and David Jackson.

Also present in his capacity as the chair of the Ballymoney committee as well as representing Causeway Coast and Glens Council was Councillor Tom McKeown.

Constable Henry, who posed the questions, praised the children for their good grasp of road safety matters and encouraged all to keep in mind the importance of the lessons learned on the day. Everyone involved took home a certificate.

Sponsored by CRASH Services, the Department for Infrastructure provide financial assistance which meant that the quiz, which has been running for more than 20 years, ran across all council areas for the first time.