MONTEGO BAY, St James — Nickallaye Gunn of Corinaldi Avenue Primary in St James was adjudged the winner of Category 1 in the inaugural staging of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) Road Safety Poster Competition.

She was one of two students who achieved top accolades during last Thursday's NRSC Awards Ceremony for its Road Safety competition held at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.

Five other students from across St James received merit awards.

They are: Britney Clark, Kenice Smith, Kimoni Bell and Danielle Boothe of Montego Bay High School and Andrew Malcolm of Corinaldi Avenue Primary, while Alexis Falloon of Jose Marti High in St Catherine was the winner in Category 2 which involved students between 13 and 19 years of age.

Nickallaye, a Grade 5 student, earned the NRSC Champion Trophy, Replica Trophy; $50,000; an Edna Manley College Scholarship for a Summer Art Programme and a digital camera for her outstanding work in the competition.

Owing to her success, Corinaldi Avenue Primary won a gift voucher valued at $20,000 for the purchase of art supplies and textbooks.

Nickallaye told the Observer West on Tuesday that she is thrilled with the results of the competition.

"I am very pleased with my performance. I love art and I enjoyed working on the poster," she said.

Dane Julius who is the art teacher at Corinaldi Avenue Primary is also elated with the results of the competition.

"This competition was a big one. When we learned about the competition on the television we said we have to win this, we were very motivated and determined to win," said an elated Julius.

Nikallaye's entry summarised the fact that road safety is the responsibility of the individual family and the collective family - Jamaica, and impact the lives of all Jamaicans. Using the national colours and other colours, she highlighted four major road safety messages -- the use of seat belts, pedestrian safety, carelessness by motorists, and the use of safety helmets.

The Competition which was held under the theme, 'Our Road Safety - OUR RESPONSIBILITY', was officially launched by Prime Minister and NRSC Chairman Portia Simpson-Miller on April 5, and ran from April 14 to May 16. It attracted a wide participation from students islandwide.

Some 106 entries were received.

Entries were judged on the basis of relevance to the theme, creativity, road safety awareness, style and presentation.

The major aims of the NRSC Road Safety Poster Competition are to communicate to youngsters the importance of safety on the roads, encourage them to be proactive in protecting themselves while travelling, and to inspire their creativity in the visual arts.