A HEADTEACHER is calling for urgent action to protect her students on the roads of a new estate, after a boy was hit by a construction vehicle.

Hannah Wilson, the head of Aureus School in Great Western Park, said she did not want to have to wait for someone to be killed before more traffic calming measures and better signage were introduced on the roads surrounding the school.

The incident, on Wednesday last week, in which a Year Seven pupil broke his leg in two places, was the third accident or near-miss in the last two weeks.

The boy had been travelling to school by scooter, without wearing a safety helmet, when he rolled out between two parked cars in Greenwood Way and was hit by a truck or large van.

He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital and was also treated for a large cut on his face and severe bruising, after he lost conciousness for several minutes.

Ms Wilson said everybody involved in the new 3,500 home estate, which is still under construction, needed to take responsibility for the problem.

She added: “We have done a big piece of work at the school to educate our children on road safety and we’ve now introduced a new rule that pupils aren’t allowed to come in by scooter without a helmet.

“We’ve written to all parents and run another road safety assembly, as some of the children were quite distressed by what happened.

“In this instance, the accident wasn’t the fault of the driver, but we have a real problem with a lack of signage, crossings and traffic calming measures and trucks driving too fast.

“It’s not clear what the speed limit is in some places and you could be around the corner and have no idea there is a school here.

“We don’t even have a zebra crossing by the front gate, so my students can cross safely.”

The school was first opened in September 2017 and currently has 120 pupils, with future capacity to expand to 1,200 when it is full.

Other schools in the area, including nearby GEMS Primary, have also raised road safety concerns connected to the amount of construction traffic.

The Great Western Park Residents Association is running a survey to identify trouble spots and potential hazards, in response to a number of concerns raised by residents.

Ms Wilson said she thought the problem was only going to get worse as more people moved in, unless something was done soon.

Part of the issue is the number of different developers working on the site and that many of the roads have not yet been adopted by Oxfordshire County Council, meaning it is unclear where responsibility lies.

Temporary signs that were promised have not yet appeared, according to Ms Wilson, who is now starting a petition calling for more signage.

She is also set to meet representatives from developer Taylor Wimpey and write to the county council to express her concerns.

She added: “We feel like we are in limbo and trying to run the school while construction carries on.

“I don’t want to have to be the head who gives an assembly because one of my kids has died.”

A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: "We are committed to working with Aureus School and will be meeting with the headteacher this week to discuss measures to help improve the safety of the children on their journeys to and from school."