Schemes

These initiatives have been running for many years in the Gwent region, in conjunction with Heddlu Gwent Police.

The Illustrated Poem Competition

is run in the Spring, and all schools are invited to ask their pupils to compose a poem on a road safety theme. In the past we have had incredible entries on the themes of

• Seatbelts
• Mobile phones
• In car distraction
• Speed

In 2004 a Big Book was produced using winning poems from previous years. This was subsequently animated by University College of Wales Newport Animation Degree students, with narration by young people. We also produced the Big Book in Welsh, with an accompanying CD to help with pronunciation. Copies of the Big Book, the CD and the DVD are available from the Road Safety Team.

The Anti-Drink Drive Poster Competition

is run to coincide with the All Wales Christmas Anti-Drink Drive campaign. Schools are once again invited to ask their pupils to design a poster, on A4 or A3 paper, with an Anti-Drink Drive theme. The winning posters are then printed professionally, and distributed around Gwent to assist the Police with raising the awareness of drivers during the festive period.
 

The difficult task of judging the entries for both of these competitions is undertaken by representatives from the Road Safety Team and Heddlu Gwent Police. There are two sections, junior and senior, and they must find a winner, two runners up and ten highly commended entries from the 600-700 received.

The winning entries are displayed at a presentation evening that takes place in County Hall Cwmbran, and is attended by the Mayors of the Local Authorities, parents, teachers and the Capita Symonds Road Safety Team. The prizes are presented by a senior officer from Heddlu Gwent Police. The winners in each category receive £100 each, runners up receive £50 each and the Best Schools, also receive £50 each.  All winners receive a certificate.