THE Green Cross Code man heralded a new era in road safety for pupils at Nailsea School.

Bristol actor Dave Prowse, the face of the Government’s road safety campaign for many years and famously known for playing Darth Vader in Star Wars, promoted the UK’s first BTEC qualification in Driving and Driver Education.

The course, devised by directors of the Nailsea-based driving school, Driving Force Training, Ian Littlefield and Mike Williams, with the help of Nailsea School’s assistant head of sixth form, Phil Duncan, is aimed at pupils aged over 16.

Students will get accustomed to driving with their peers and will assess each other’s performance, learn good driving practice, courtesy, car safety, basic mechanics and vehicle maintenance, as well as how to spot and anticipate driving hazards.

The partnership has also been running a successful three day pre-driver education course for 14-year-olds during school holidays with the next course at Easter.