Bedfordshire schoolchildren on track with railway learning thanks to ‘epic’ outings

Houghton Regis schoolchildren with special needs have been building up their confidence when it comes to train travel thanks to three specially organised 'Try a Train' trips with Thameslink.

Youngsters from Chiltern School, which caters for pupils with a range of special educational needs, enjoyed learning about rail safety and railway heritage during three outings this month.

On each day, a different group of children from the school practised buying tickets at Leagrave station before travelling down to St Albans to visit the St Albans South Signal Box and Museum.

At the museum, the 11 to 15-year-olds explored the many interactive displays and learnt about railway heritage through talks and demonstrations by the volunteers there.

January’s Try a Train trips were organised by Andy Buckley, who is the Line Officer for the Bedford to St Albans Community Rail Partnership, with help from the charity Sustrans. Andy said: “We've been very pleased to be able to host these visits for the Chiltern School pupils, bringing the classroom onto the railway. The children were interested and inquisitive, asking lots of questions, most of which we were able to answer!”

Pupil Dylan, 14, said: “I loved the trip and I thought it was interesting.”

Fellow pupil Bailey, 15, added: “The police spoke to us about safety, which was interesting. We then got on the train and learned about different parts of the carriage. At the signal box and museum, I enjoyed learning what all the levers did. I really enjoyed the trip - it was epic!”

Teacher Mark Bodsworth said: “The students were excited when they arrived at the station and were greeted by GTR officers who explained the importance of platform safety. They were given an opportunity to collect their train tickets, giving them an excellent real-life experience. On boarding the train, we were shown some of the features of the carriages and the station. This was very interesting and kept the students occupied during the journey.”

Mark added: “The whole day was very well organised from start to finish. All the staff the students encountered were extremely friendly and understanding of their needs. I would definitely recommend the visit to others.”