A headteacher has called for the speed limit to be cut on a road outside her primary school which has seen three crashes in as many months.

She fears a failure to act could mean "a child gets seriously hurt".

Barton Park School Park opened beside the A40 between Headington and Marston as part of a new 885-home development – a joint venture between the city council and land developer Grosvenor.

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But Barton Fields Road, which runs past the school, has not yet been adopted by Oxfordshire County Council meaning it is not covered by the 20mph limits which apply to most residential streets elsewhere in the city. 

Oxford Mail: Barton Park Primary SchoolBarton Park Primary School (Image: Newsquest)

School head Bryony McCraw called on the county council to fix a 20mph speed limit which could be enforced by police.

She also called for a safe road crossing and for traffic calming measures such as speed bumps or speed cameras around the school.

Oxford Mail: Headteacher Bryony McCrawHeadteacher Bryony McCraw (Image: Barton Park Primary School)Since September, there have been three accidents on the road, two directly outside the school gates, the headteacher said.

She added: "My question to the council is 'how long is it going to take to adopt the road and make it safe?'.

"Is it going to take until all the houses have gone up or a child is seriously injured?

"The parents are really worried about it. The parents came to me at the beginning of the year and said 'what can we do to move this forward?'"

A crash on the evening of October 6 into a householder's stationary vehicle saw police launch an investigation into dangerous driving.

Oxford Mail: A crash took place in Barton Fields Road in October A crash took place in Barton Fields Road in October (Image: Contributed)In another incident, the headteacher said CCTV showed the bike stands outside the school being flattened by a car.

She said: "I think it's really serious. There was that awful story back in the summer about the child that was tragically killed within their own school grounds in Wimbledon when a car mounted the kerb.

"I can see that happening here. 

"People might say the speeding happens after school hours but the children play outside.

"It would be too easy to bash into a child.

"At the very least we should go signs up really quickly."

The pupils took part in a protest outside the school to urge local authorities to take action on the issue on Tuesday.

Oxford Mail: A sign placed on the school gates
This came as part of Road Safety Week with the pupils making signs for the demonstration.

Signs read '20 is plenty' and 'keep our roads safe' while children shouted 'our school is a safe place, don't use it for your race'.

Year four pupil, Tayo, aged nine said: "I think it is important to stop people speeding past our school because one day one person might be playing outside or crossing the road and someone could get hit by a car speeding past."

Year five pupil, Saffiya, aged nine said: "As we start to go into year six, some of us might start walking to school on our own and if speeding is still happening someone could get really injured."

A petition backing the calls has been launched with more than 150 signatures at the time of writing.

Oxford Mail: Pupils protest over speeding concerns outside schoolA spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: "The legal agreement for the adoption of the road outside the school is being held up by land ownership issues.

"We are working hard to resolve it, but it involves several parties, so it is taking some time. We cannot adopt the road without a Highways Act legal agreement being in place.

"Oxfordshire County Council cannot carry out speed enforcement, this can only be done by the police.

"We are asking the developer to install repeater signs, so that Thames Valley Police can legally carry out enforcement. The road has been designed with a 20mph limit in mind."