Students at Erdington Academy have sent a “courageous” message to local leaders about air pollution and road safety at their school – according one of the city’s key spokespeople over transport and clean air.
On Friday, 14 March, pupils from the academy, which is part of Fairfax Multi Academy Trust, welcomed the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster and three Birmingham councillors – to show them first-hand the impact of traffic at the school gates on Kingsbury Road.
Attending the school alongside the PCC were Erdington Ward representatives Cllr Gareth Moore (Conservative) and Cllr Robert Alden (Conservative).
The Erdington councillors were also joined by Cllr Waseem Zarrar (Lozells, Labour) who is part of the Birmingham Healthy Air Coalition – a collective of health, transport and environmental organisations with a focus on combatting air pollution.
Cllr Zaffar was on the Sustainability and Transport Overview & Scrutiny Committee at Birmingham City Council until 2025 and was a key advocate of the city’s recent transport plan – which saw planters and concrete blocks pedestrianise residential roads in local neighbourhoods, and the introduction of the Clean Air Zone charges in Birmingham City Centre.
The visit from the local dignitaries to Erdington Academy was the culmination of six months of extracurricular workshops with the students – as delivered by Birmingham Healthy Air Coalition at the academy.
Year 10 student Brycen Olakunle explained: “I think they listened to us. We hope that the councillors can refer our situation to local engineers to get a pedestrian crossing installed outside the school on the main road.”
They added: “We would also like road markings to be repainted, and improved signage around our school.”
After working with the students, Cllr Zaffar told: “It’s amazing the way the schoolchildren have come forward and identified a real problem which affects their daily life and have been courageous enough to speak to officials who make those key decisions.
“It’s brilliant to see young people having the confidence to challenge politicians and hold them to account, and also to see the politicians responding.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster also told: “I’m very impressed with the work the children have done and seeing them step up to raise their concerns. They communicated the issues excellently.
“This is an issue we see across the region, and we must ensure we are tackling it. It’s a top priority for West Midlands Police, as outlined in our new plan for 2025, which will soon be published.”
After speaking to the Erdington Academy students, Cllr Gather Moore (Erdington Ward, Conservative) said: “It’s good to see the children are raising the issues that impact them on a daily basis, and it’s very concerning to hear that accidents have happened.
“I look forward to bringing these issues to the council and working with the police and council to do whatever we can to improve road safety and make children feel safe.”
Cllr Robert Alden added: “It’s great to see the passion of the children who want to ensure their journeys to and from school are as safe as possible.”
For more on Erdington Academy visit www.erdingtonacademy.bham.sch.uk