As part of this year’s Community Rail Week, a group of 30 ten-year-old school children from Bradford visited the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct for an educational day out on the famous Settle to Carlisle Railway.

Many of the children, from year five at Barkerend Leadership Academy, had never previously travelled on a train.

The visit to Ribblehead Viaduct was an interactive day of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities.

The trip was a joint collaboration between Community Rail Lancashire, the Settle to Carlisle Community Rail Partnership, and Community Rail Network.

During their visit the children learnt about the viaduct’s history and the importance of the railway, making drawings and models using recycled materials to make models.

Community Rail Week took place from last Monday, 22nd to next Sunday, 28th May.

As a prelude to their visit, the children received a talk about rail safety and potential careers in the rail industry from Karen Bennett from the Community Rail Network and Catherine Kingdom, Community Rail Education Development Officer at Community Rail Lancashire.

During their train journey to Ribblehead, the pupils took part in a STEM I-spy game where they had to look out for Bingley’s Three Rise Locks, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, and semaphore signals.

After arriving at Ribblehead Station, STEM ambassador and chartered engineer Andrew Walker gave the children a talk about how the construction of the viaduct in the late 19th century was extremely tough and dangerous work, and how it was built by thousands of navvies using mainly manual labour.

Andrew Walker was one of those who worked on a major refurbishment of the viaduct in 2021.

After their visit to the viaduct, the children returned to Ribblehead Station where they built their own models of the viaduct and learnt more about the history of the Settle to Carlisle line.

Vicki Hinchliffe, Vice Principal at Barkerend Primary Leadership Academy, said: “It’s wonderful to be able to take the children out of the city into the stunning scenery of Yorkshire’s Three Peaks landscape and, for most, it was their first experience of travelling on a train.

“Many of our pupils simply don’t get these opportunities to explore the countryside and learn about the county’s rich heritage and for community rail and Northern to help organise and fund a trip like this leaves memories that will last a lifetime. They will be talking about this amazing day out for weeks afterwards.”

Karen Bennett, Education and Youth Engagement Advisor at Community Rail Network said: “The trip was an opportunity to inspire pupils from inner-city Bradford to connect to new communities by rail and also to look to engineering roles for their future careers. We were delighted to be joined by industry contacts and a STEM ambassador to help encourage pupils into STEM careers.

“The pupils were wowed by the views of the Yorkshire Three Peaks and amazed to be up to the Ribblehead Viaduct close up. They all enjoyed their adventure on the train, and many said they would convince their parents to bring them back.”

Catherine Kingdom, Community Rail Education Development Officer at Community Rail Lancashire, added: “Opening up new experiences and opportunities for schoolchildren is at the heart of community rail’s mission. Travelling to such stunning landscapes is quick, safe, and easy by rail, thanks to the financial support of Northern. It’s wonderful to see how excited and engaged the children become as soon as they get on the train.

“We hope this educational trip inspires the children to engage more deeply with their STEM studies and to bring their families back to the Settle-Carlisle Line to visit some of the magical places along it.”

Carolyn Watson, Director of Stakeholder and Community Engagement for Northern, said: ‘I was delighted to attend the event at Ribblehead. Northern proudly supports over 20 community rail partnerships and volunteer groups at over 300 stations across the network and events like this really showcase the valuable work community rail delivers in bringing young people together.

“Providing young people with hands-on learning and fun, culturally diverse days out is so important for building their confidence and independence as passengers of the future.”