The Isle of Wight Council has revealed the winners of the 2024 Brighten Your Bag competition, a creative initiative aimed at promoting road safety within primary schools and their communities.
The activity encourages pupils to design and decorate their school bags with high-visibility materials and/or colours, making them more visible to other road users during the darker winter months.
The competition was open to primary schools across the Isle of Wight taking part in the council’s Junior Travel Ambassador (JTA) scheme.
This year, there were 2 categories for the competition:
Key Stage 1: Pupils were provided with a bag template to create bright and colourful designs.
Key Stage 2: Pupils were asked to decorate physical bags with reflective and fluorescent materials.
Southern Vectis sponsored the competition, offering a family ticket to their popular Christmas lights tour for the KS2 winner.
Participants were invited to use reflective materials, bright colours, and innovative designs to ensure their bags stood out. The goal was to make the bag as bright as possible, combining creativity with safety.
This year’s winners are:
Key Stage 2 – Will Upton, Nettlestone Primary
Will won a scooter, a reflective drawstring bag and a family ticket for 5 to the Southern Vectis Christmas lights tour.
Key Stage 1 – Freddie Bane, St Mary’s Primary.
Freddie won a scooter and a reflective drawstring bag.
Runners-up were given a reflective drawstring bag each.
Councillor Karen Lucioni, Cabinet member for community protection, says:
“We are thrilled to see the enthusiasm from our young residents.
“The Brighten Your Bag competition not only fosters creativity but also raises awareness about the importance of being visible on the roads. It’s a fun and engaging way to promote road safety.
“Thank you to all those who took part, and we hope even more schools get involved near year! Always remember to Be Safe, Be Seen”
