FIVE students from Holyrood Academy in Chard have done the school proud in a county-wide competition.

Sixth-formers Jon Simmons, Stephen Barnes, Ryan Churchill, Josh Keating and Tom Davison, all 18, came second in the Somerset County Council competition designed to raise awareness of road safety.

They focused on the risks surrounding cyclists on the roads, making posters – and, in a matter of about four weeks, a prototype indicator for bikes to present to judges.

Jon took the lead designing the indicator, alongside his peers, who concentrated on the message of being aware of cyclists and the importance of wearing helmets in their campaign.

Tom said: “When we went to County Hall in Taunton they were very impressed with the indicators – they wanted us to patent the design.”

Ryan added: “I thought we did quite well. I think Jon’s indicator was really good and I think it helped us to do so well. We are pretty proud of our achievement.”

The youngsters are pleased the project raised awareness of the issues at school.

Josh said: “A lot of sixthformers were actually quite interested in it. A lot of people came up and asked us about it and wanted to know when we would find out the results. Raising awareness was the whole idea, so that’s good.

Head teacher Martin Brook said: “Having only been at the school for three weeks, it is already very clear to me that we have some fantastically talented students.

“It’s also excellent to see how involved the sixthformers are with the school.”