Young pupils are taught vital road safety lessons by police

With little traffic about in those days, many parents were happy for their offspring to set off in the morning and return home in the afternoon, confident that they would be safe in the saddle.

However, it was sensible to make sure they knew how to ride, observed the rules of the road and that their bikes were in good condition.

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Many councils had road safety committees which would encourage children to take the National Cycling Proficiency Test.

Often police would get involved to promote the road safety message, as we see in these pictures.

The top picture was taken in 1977 at Cowley St Christopher First School in Temple Road, Oxford.

Under the headline, Take a tip from Pc Risby, the Oxford Mail reported: “The long – but friendly – arm of the law visited the school with road safety advice for the young pupils.

“Pc Frank Risby, whose nine-year-old son Elliot is a pupil, was invited to take part in the school’s ‘Safer on the Streets’ week.”

For five days, the children had been doing special road safety projects, drawing safety posters and carrying out traffic censuses to try to stop them becoming accident casualties.

The week ended with parents being invited to coffee and a talk on road safety with their children.

Headmaster Bernard Durbin said: “It has been a good effort and it is something new. It is a good way of getting the children to think about road safety.”

You can see some of the pupils looking on as Pc Risby inspects their project work.

Note the smart school uniforms, with ties!

A road safety advice session (Image: Oxford Mail)

The lower picture was taken in 1965 at Rose Hill Primary School ay The Oval, where pupils created their own model of potential road hazards, including pedestrian crossings, road junctions and traffic lights.

Oxford’s Deputy Chief Constable, Superintendent Leonard North, paid a visit to the school to see what pupils had done.

Patricia Buckle, nine, is seen in the centre pointing out some of the features to him.

All 250 pupils had contributed to the model.

The result was so good that it had been decided to display it at Oxford Town Hall in St Aldate’s as part of an exhibition organised by the city’s road safety organisation.

These were the days when Oxford had its own police force, based at St Aldate’s police station.

Thames Valley Police, incorporating the city and neighbouring forces, was formed in 1968.