CHILDREN at Woodstock Primary School were top of the class when it came to road safety quizzes.

The four children pictured, Rebecca Dresden, Matthew Simmons, Richard Glazer and Angela Carritt, were worthy winners of the 1983 countywide competition.

Three other teams entered by the school also did well, finishing second, third and fifth against 20 other schools.

And that wasn’t all – a team of parents with children at the school were also triumphant.

Having won the competition four years running, the safety-conscious pupils were presented with a shield.

The teacher mainly responsible for the school’s success was Dorothy Hughes, of Kidlington, who achieved national fame in 2009 when she became the first woman Chelsea Pensioner.

Mrs Hughes was a member of Kidlington Road Safety Committee and, with help from the county road safety officer, organised cycling proficiency tests for children.

Under her guidance, more than 150 children received their cycling proficiency certificates between 1972 and 1983, when she retired.

She recalls: “Part of the test was knowledge of the Highway Code, so we had quizzes at any wet playtimes.”

When the invitation came to compete in the road safety quizzes against other schools, the Woodstock pupils were well prepared to take on all comers.

Before the M40 opened, traffic through Woodstock was always heavy, so it was important children were properly trained on the road.

Mrs Hughes writes: “Years later, several ex-pupils told me that they passed their driving test first time and said how useful the cycling course had been.”

The Woodstock pupils in the other successful 1983 teams were Victoria Culpin, Philip Bowman, Lucy Wise, Steven Jones, Louise Holmes, Joanna Ware, Anna March, Louise Nutbrown, Robert Peasley, Christopher Harris, Linda Price and Samantha Stokes.

Where are they all now? Write and let us know.