Staff at Recognition Express, the leading European franchise in promotional products, branded gifts and school uniforms, are thrilled at the success of their annual Schools Road Safety competition. Over 8,200 entries were received, from 180 primary schools across England, Wales and Scotland.

Nigel Toplis, managing director, said: “The competition has been more popular each year, but it really is three times lucky as we’ve had an 84% increase in entries this year! We’ve had to make extra space in the office for all the wonderful pictures and of course it’s been harder than ever to judge.

“It’s very touching to see how much effort the children put in, and more importantly it’s great to see that teaching children about road safety is still a priority for schools.”

Recognition Express began the competition, which it runs in partnership with Brake, the national road safety charity, in 2009 to engage children about staying safe around roads and traffic.

This year primary school children were asked to design a road safety banner to display outside their school during Road Safety Week, which took place 21-27 November 2011.

Each of the 12 winners, selected from across the UK, were then presented with a full-size printed version of their banner design, along with a special Star Award. The winning schools also received 300 high visibility drawstring bags and 200 Star Writer pencils to share out amongst the rest of the school.

Katie Shephard, Director of Fundraising, Brake: “Brake is delighted that Recognition Express are running this competition to raise awareness about road safety. Road crashes devastate families across the UK every day and it’s vital we educate children so help keep them safe on the road.”

Jay Robson – Scottish Winner