A SCHOOL has told pupils they will be banned from cycling to school if they do not wear safety helmets after an accident left one teenager in intensive care.

Children at The Hurst Community College, in Baughurst, will now have to don the specialist gear as a matter of course after staff at the school decided something must be done.

Two weeks ago, a 14-year-old pupil was cycling home from school when he was involved in a collision with a school coach on the controversial Heath End Road.

The boy, who has not been named, was not wearing a helmet and has been in a serious condition ever since at Southampton General Hospital. He suffered serious head injuries but is said to be improving.

As a result, pupils will now have to prove they have a helmet when a cycle pass is issued and produce it for spot checks. Failure to do this will lead to their cycle pass being revoked.

Steve Brown, deputy headteacher at The Hurst, said: "We have got to make a stand as a result of the accident.

"As well as the pass checks, we will be operating physical checks by patrolling the bike sheds to make sure the children are actually wearing their helmets.

"We will also be sending letters home to parents to inform them of the policy and to encourage them to support us.

"Many of the children at The Hurst have a cycling proficiency certificate. But we are working to increase the level of checking when children are leaving school to make sure they are behaving in a responsible manner and that helmets are being worn.

"There are always staff out and about on the roads around the school before it starts and after it finishes, so this is another way we will be enforcing this change in policy."

Stuart Marchant, teacher and governor responsible for health and safety at The Hurst, wants to make it clear that the school is taking steps to prevent further accidents in the future.

"Announcing this policy about helmets is one thing, but what the children do is another matter," he said.

"I have done a survey of all the schools around the Basingstoke area and have found that we are one of the few schools that have a 40mph speed limit outside the grounds. This is quite a worry for us.

"Sadly it requires a large accident like the one two weeks ago to get anything done."

Mr Marchant is currently working on a school travel plan initiative set up by Hampshire County Council. The plan aims to make travel to and from school easier for children and parents.

Representatives from the county council have been out to see the college this week and have given teachers a draft survey on which to base their own school survey, which will be completed by pupils.

Julia Herron, press officer at the council, said: "The college will eventually come up with an action plan. This could involve cycling workshops being held or suggested routes for pupils to take to and from school."

Sandra Johnson, a resident of Wigmore Road, whose daughter attends The Hurst, feels very strongly about the issue and has backed the school's tough stance.

She said: "The majority of schoolchildren don't wear helmets these days and it doesn't look like they have taken the cycling proficiency test.

"As a resident in the area, watching the kids ride three or four abreast, it was an unfortunate inevitability that something nasty would happen."

Heath End Road has been the subject of heated rows over the last few years.

Traffic-calming measures were installed and then removed last year after residents complained that they did not make much of a difference and residents are concerned that this recent accident will not be the last.

The county council has already said it cannot carry out accurate monitoring of the road to investigate other traffic-calming measures until roadworks on the A340 have been completed at the end of April.