A PRIMARY school near Aberystwyth welcomed pupils back from their summer holidays this week as the finishing touches are being put on a £115,000 road safety scheme.

Ysgol Penrhyncoch will see a mandatory 20mph speed limit in place at the back and front of the school, with pedestrian crossings near both entrances.

An advisory 20mph limit has been in place for several years, but parents have said walking to and from school entails “taking your life into your own hands”, as reported in the Cambrian News last year.

Funding for the scheme has largely come from the Welsh Government’s Safe Routes in Communities fund, with Ceredigion County Council and Trefeurig Community Council also contributing.

Works have been ongoing throughout the summer holidays and are nearing completion as children returned to school this week.

Headteacher Catryn Lawrence told the Cambrian News the school was “thrilled” the hard work and persistence had come to fruition.

“As a school we are thrilled that the hard work of our school councillors and junior road safety officers has paid off,” said Miss Lawrence, who also heads Ysgol Penllwyn in Capel Bangor.

“Their persistence in continuing to campaign for safer journeys to school, whether it be by educating parents and pupils and conducting road traffic surveys with the police, has resulted in receiving this fantastic grant which raises awareness in the whole community.

“In line with this, pupils at the school competed to create a parking code and bumper stickers to spread the message further afield.

“The successful pupils’ works have been chosen and will be displayed shortly. As head, I am extremely proud of their efforts.”

Miss Lawrence added: “We received £102,000 [from the Welsh Government] which was added to £11,500 from Ceredigion County Council and £100 from Trefeurig Community Council, and now have a total of £115,000.

“We are extremely grateful to Cyngor Cymuned Trefeurig for their continuous support of the school.”

See the full story in this week’s south edition