Students from the School Council have been working hard on their reporting skills to participate in BBC School Report.

They have put together a short news bulletin on school report day and a number of pieces on the theme of road safety relating to cyclists and young drivers. The highlight of the project was reporting from a crash reconstruction event staged at the school.

Here are our news headlines read by Rishi (Year 9) and Sam (Year 8):

Road safety is a bid issue in Lancashire at the moment. 20mph speed limit zones are being introduced across the county so our school reporters looked into the main issues of road safety, especially for cyclists and young drivers, starting with the following report from Harry (Year 8).

Sixth Form students at Hutton Grammar School were given a lesson in road safety and responsible driving at a young driver awareness event organised by Lancashire Safer Travel.

Students watched a presentation by Rhiannon Leeds from the Safer Travel team which included some hard-hitting footage of crash reconstructions and the aftermath of real accidents.

The event was designed to encourage students to drive safely and responsibly, thinking about the dangers that cause accidents such as speeding, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and using mobile phones. It was part of the Wasted Lives campaign which aims to reduce the number of road accidents involving young people by changing attitudes to driving.

The students also braved the cold and wind outside to view a reconstruction of an accident involving two cars and a motorbike with the roles of casualties being played by some of our Sixth Form Theatre Studies students. Members of the emergency services were on hand to demonstrate what happens in an actual crash, including treating casualties and removing them from a vehicle.

Members of our school council were also on hand to report on the event for BBC School Report. Their filming of the presentation and interviews with the participants can be viewed below. Some of the boys have also written their own reports on the event.

On Friday the 8^th March, Lancashire Safer Travel and members of the emergency services came to Hutton Grammar School to show the Sixth Form students what can happen when people drive dangerously and how to keep safe on the roads.

Firstly, the students were shown videos about the dangers of texting while driving, speeding and not wearing a seatbelt. They also saw a video on the impact of someone passing away because of a car accident.

After the presentation, everyone went outside to see a crash reconstruction. This showed what it was like to get the casualties out of vehicles. In this case, the casualties were only actors but the scene was realistic and highlighted what can happen when people don’t drive responsibly.

Glyn (Year 7)

The Sixth Form assembled in the main hall for a presentation made by Lancashire Safer Travel. They were there to raise awareness about road safety and responsible driving.

First, we watched a very hard hitting video about the danger of young drivers texting while driving. The second video was about speed and road awareness. The third video was a reconstruction of a crash involving a young driver and a little girl. In the video the little girl died from the impact of the car. A final presentation was shown about a young driver who died in a horrendous car crash. He struck a dry stone wall. After these presentations everyone went outside to see the car that was involved in the crash in the last video and the impact was obvious to see. 

Students then watched a crash reconstruction on school grounds with some Sixth Form students acting as casualties. The scenario was responded to by all the emergency services, including the police, paramedics and the fire and rescue. The crash reconstruction was hard hitting, realistic and thought provoking and will hopefully make young drivers aware of safety and driving responsibly.

Lewis (Year 7)