A team of quickfire quiz experts from Oldbury Wells School, near Bridgnorth, have been declared the winners of this year's fire safety quiz run by Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service.
A total of ten Shropshire schools took part in the final held at Telford Fire Station yesterday (Tuesday 28th) after winning through regional heats involving schools from across the county.
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of year 11 pupils from 47 schools have been researching facts, figures and expert advice about fire safety and general safety compiled into a Be Cool Be Safe magazine and accessed at www.becoolbesafe.co.uk ready for the popular quiz.
It was the team from Oldbury Wells School which notched up 349 points with Oswestry School declared the runners up and Thomas Adams School from Wem taking third and Wrockwardine Wood Arts College, from Telford, in fourth place.
The winners receive a £500 cheque for their school as well as £20 gift vouchers for each member of the team, along with certificates and medals. They gained most points in five rounds of questions including what to do if there is a gas leak, identifying that 55 per cent of people who die in house fires did not have a working smoke alarm and that there are 3,700 hoax fire calls in the UK each year.
The final round involved the teams of four racing against the clock to each put on fire kit including helmet, jacket, trousers and boots.
Priory School's Katie Russell (12) and Matthew Leith (11) successfully complete the "parachute" race.
Chief Fire Officer Alan Taylor, who handed out certificates and medals to all who took part, said: "It has been a very well organised event and the youngsters have had fun and learned some very useful information to help keep them safe."
The other schools to take part were the Priory School from Shrewsbury; Newport Girls High School; Blessed Robert Johnson; Ercall Wood; Bridgnorth Endowed; and the Hadley Learning Community.
Newport Girls High School pupil Dani Norman grapples with a fire helmet in the kit race.
Information they learned includes knowledge on staying safe with fire, water, on the roads and railways, how to deal with school bullies, facts on alcohol, drugs and tobacco, and what to do in an emergency.
"Children across Shropshire have worked very hard with our crews who have gone into a number of schools to get the knowledge they need to answer the questions. It is all around safety and is an excellent way of teaching life skills to young people who will hopefully keep much of the information to ensure they stay safe," said organiser Charlie Cartwright.
"I want to thank all the schools who took part, many of which have built our sessions with firefighters into their lessons timetable."
Priory School's Matthew Leith in the fire kit race.
