Getting Streetwise

New Year 7 students in Brighton & Hove will be getting ‘Streetwise’ next week in a bid to keep them safe as they travel to and from school.

Streetwise, a touring theatre production by Performance in Education,  is aimed at students starting a new journey to secondary school and asks them to consider the risks around phones, ipods and chatting/ messing around when crossing the road.

It also includes:

•    Creating real life strategies to overcome peer pressure / peer influence around poor road safety
•    Encouraging the use of school crossing patrols and pedestrian crossings
•    Increasing students’ knowledge of how to remain safe when using the roads

Highlighting risks

Using actors in masks, the play highlights the risks and simple mistakes students can make on the roads, and how to avoid them.  
Sponsored by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council, Streetwise will be visiting most of the secondary schools in the city. Previous tours have been well received by both students and teachers, and evaluation indicates that students’ attitude and awareness has improved.                                                The show has been designed to re-enforce information given to the students while they were in Year 6 at Primary School and received the Step Up guide, giving advice and information on getting to school safely and encouraging them to walk or cycle.

Partnership working

Councillor Anne Pissaridou, chair of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee said: “Starting Secondary School is often the first time that students travel to school alone so this is a great way to get road safety messages across.
“We are pleased to be working with Sussex Safer Roads Partnership and Performance in Education to highlight the dangers of getting distracted when walking with friends and help ensure that city students arrive safely at school.”

Streetwise will visit the following schools between October 8 and 22: 

  • Brighton & Hove High School 
  • Downs View 
  • Portslade Aldridge Community Academy 
  • Patcham High
  • Blatchington Mill
  • The Kings School 
  • Varndean High School 
  • Longhill High 
  • Cardinal Newman 
  • Hove Park Lower School.

For more information click here