PUPIL POWER GETS SCHOOL CROSSING

Crossing a busy road to get to Candleby Lane School and Little Kites Nursery in Cotgrave had become a worry for parents and pupils alike. The School Council, which is made up of pupils from different school years, listened to everyone’s concerns and decided to take action. They started a petition and, as well as parents and pupils signatures, they got local residents and business people to sign it. The School Councilpresented the petition to local councillor Richard Butler, who is also a governor at the school.
Councillor Butler said: “I have long wanted some sort of pedestrian crossing facility here and had been lobbying for it for a number of years. But the real and genuine comments and petition from the school council helped to achieve what we all wanted. As well as helping children and parents to cross the road safely, the crossing is also encouraging parents to walk to the shopping precinct across the road so local businesses are also benefiting.”
The crossing was installed and designed by Nottinghamshire County Council as part of its popular Local Improvement Scheme.
Candleby Lane head teacher, Chris Wheatley, said: “This crossing means that the children are much safer crossing the road at the start and end of the day when there are a lot of cars around. We are very grateful to Coun Butler and the Local Improvement Scheme for making it happen.”
The new zebra crossing has had the thumbs up from pupils. Eight-year-old Sophie Walker and 10-year-old Jessica Clark feel much safer getting to school in the mornings. Jessica said: “Before the crossing was put in we had to wait for ages to get across the road and we’ve all noticed that the cars on Candleby Lane are also going a lot slower now.”