A pupil has been knocked down outside a north Belfast secondary school, prompting a warning from its principal that some parents are “endangering lives” when dropping their children off.
In a letter to parents, Belfast Royal Academy (BRA) head teacher Hilary Woods said she was “sorry to report that there was an accident at the front of school on the Cliftonville Road this morning when a pupil was knocked down”.
She added that “thankfully, the pupil was not seriously injured but was taken to hospital”.
But the incident prompted her to write to parents to urge them to have a “little consideration and common sense...to ensure that pupils’ safety remains paramount”.
“I regret to say that a small number of parents persist in ignoring requests from school regarding parking and dropping their child off and are endangering lives,” she wrote.
“Estates staff are trying to monitor this in the morning, but there is a limit to what they can do.
“I am aware that some parents have been using the staff carparks at the swimming pool and Sports Hall for dropping their children off and picking them up at the end of the day and also entering the school grounds in front of the Crombie.
“Our school estate is extremely compact and with over 1450 pupils and nearly 200 staff, the traffic issues at the beginning and end of the day can be complex.
“There is also a high volume of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the Cliftonville Road with pupils who attend other neighbouring schools.
“For very obvious health and safety issues, no parent should enter the school grounds, or use any of the staff car parks, in order to drop off their child.”
Ms Woods also called for “co-operation in ensuring” there is no parking across the main entrance of the Cliftonville Road site “to allow your child to alight from the vehicle”.
“This was happening this morning whilst staff were dealing with the accident as parents are ignoring the markings on the road to stop which causes visibility issues and is another major safety concern,” she added.
“If travelling via car, pupils may be dropped off in the vicinity of the school and walk the short distance to school.
“Please do not add to the congestion and jeopardise the safety of pupils by trying to get as close to the school grounds as possible in order to convenience your own child.
“With a little consideration and common sense, we can ensure that pupils’ safety remains paramount.”
A PSNI spokeswoman said officers “attended the scene of a minor collision between a car and cyclist in the Cliftonville Road area”.
“It was at around 8.50am, there were no injuries and no damage reported,” she said.
