A group of new young station adopters, had undertaken a litter pick, and a leaflet drop to neighbouring residents, telling them about the station adoption.
They had been interviewed by a local radio station, and were keen to learn more about the train service passing through their station.
Youth leaders and parents wanted to consolidate their own knowledge to strengthen their connection to the railway and for the children to become more aware of safe and responsible rail travel.
The Community Development Officer had the idea of using the newly published Sonnet the Skylark activity pack on a real train journey, as it’s all about the Arun Valley Line.
In May 2026, Ifield station got a new station partner, a group of 8 – 11 year-olds from a nearby youth club. They settled in to their role, taking responsibilities seriously, with litterpicking sessions, and a leaflet drop introducing the initiative to local residents. With more time spent at the station, the youth leaders reported to the CRP Line officer that they were asking about how to travel safely by train and understand connections and timetables.
In a separate project, Line Officer Rowena Tyler was promoting an activity book for children, funded by Community Rail Network and featuring stations on the Arun Valley Line. The aim of the activity book, was to promote safe travel while solving a mystery, using a series of puzzles in the pack.
The activity book had drawn a positive response from adults and families on the train, commending a locally based pack to while away the journey, which complemented the view along the Arun Valley Line.
The funding terms required feedback and evaluation. Rowena thought, ‘who better to carry this out than the small but enthusiastic group of new station adopters, some of whom had never travelled by train before’?.
GTR provided travel authorities for 9 young people and 2 youth leaders for the journey
An itinerary, drawn up by Line Officer, Rowena Tyler, helped them to set off on time from unstaffed Ifield, to busy Gatwick Airport, where she met the group.
After a short briefing, and handing out the Sonnet the Skylark Activity packs, the group worked together to identify the correct platform for the next stage of their journey, Gatwick Airport to Barnham. During the 9 stop journey they worked on their Rail Detective task, using the activity packs, either in pairs, with a youth leader, or alone.
At Barnham, the group visited the gateline and the ticket office, where they asked questions, and experimented with the ticket vending machine (TVM).
They identified the correct platform for the return journey to Horsham, listening out for announcements to make sure they were sitting in the correct part of the train, as a detachment would take place.
At Horsham they changed trains and boarded the last train of their trip, back to Ifield, having had an informative and fun day – most, but not all of them had also solved the mystery posed in the activity pack.
We think this is a great way to build young people’s confidence on the railway, giving them a fun, hands-on experience, while really helping them feel connected to their local line.