Having successfully worked with Hazel Court FE in the past, SCRP were warmly welcomed back to the college to work with two groups of FE students with a range of Special Educational Needs or Disabilities; some already independent bus travellers, to help increase their confidence and knowledge around using the rail network safely.
The workshops were delivered over two weeks with a focus on planning a journey, rail safety and the increasingly important, sustainable travel. The Try a Train experiences took place during the college’s Careers Week, enabling 17 students to travel from Hampden Park to Brighton. Transport choices were discussed and the benefits of active travel. Both groups arrived at the station by minibus and one group chose to walk back to college at the end of the day.
Southern Rail staff were fantastic; supporting students whilst practising purchasing their tickets at the ticket office and when using them to pass through the rail barriers at Brighton. The Rail Enforcement team and British Transport Police amongst others, were happy to discuss their roles and answer lots of interesting questions from the students.
The students enjoyed the opportunity to fully embed their knowledge as they were able to recall important safety information from the workshops and also created wonderful posters. They then put this knowledge into practice whilst on the platform, boarding the train and on the station concourse.
At Brighton, the students learned about different types of trains and when showed inside a ticket machine, learned just how many tickets it holds! An ‘I Spy’ activity at the station was enjoyed immensely and opened up more discussions as well as familiarised these young people with the features of a rail station.
On both trips we received positive feedback from fellow passengers who felt the scheme was an excellent idea and were pleased to see young people using the trains again. Students and staff gave positive feedback and enjoyed the experience.
” I liked buying tickets at the station.”
“I liked not sitting in a classroom doing maths but using it at the station.”
