Delivery:
The students from Woodrush High School in Wythall, Worcestershire, set up their own Station Adoption Group three years ago as part of a project to enhance the experience for rail users and promote rail safety, this programme has now developed into a learning programme for pupils of all ages and underpins studies towards City & Guilds Qualification programmes.
The school team began working with the Friends of the Shakespeare Line and Andy Reece, head of humanities and leader of the station scheme at Woodrush High School. At the outset, the work originally involved eight students and two members of staff but over the years and with invaluable guidance and support by Friends of The Shakespeare Line, the scheme has been so successful that further year groups and other schools are now involved with similar programmes, and many more students are benefitting from the multi-faceted learning experience & the aligned educational qualifications.
The school began this project to develop community and cross-generational links whilst allowing pupils the opportunity to create improvements to the local environment. The station itself is more welcoming and local people benefit from the sense of localism and of the railways being part of communities.
Students are taking increasing pride in the locality where they attend school and the introduction of the City and Guilds Level 2 qualification to the community scheme is now an important part of the curriculum at the school which is being expanded to increase the numbers of pupils benefitting from the Woodrush Community Stations programme.
Woodrush are also creating a 'Primary School' model for the station scheme 'in school' to engage learners with horticultural experiences that can underpin next level studies towards the City & Guilds Qualification developed under this programme.
The number of stations involved in the scheme is being expanded with 'natural world' learning underway whilst engaging young people in the rail industry and the programme has also developed 'mini nature reserves' at Wythall Station which include bug hotels, bee posts, bird boxes, hedgehog dens, and wild flowering areas. The schools involved can also obtain 'Eco School' accreditation whereby planting is undertaken on school land to develop seed crops for the station.
From this funded scheme, the student volunteers also have a rest and storage space on site as the unused station building has been converted and will be an invaluable asset for the coming years of student works at the station.
From the early days ‘station adoption’ at a single location to a C&G programme involving all age students and a range of schools offering qualifications, this CCIF supported and funded scheme can truly be described as ‘life-changing’.