Local schoolchildren have brought some festive cheer to White Notley Station in Essex ahead of the Christmas holidays.
The Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (CRP) and local station adopters invited the school to the station as part of a series of events to raise the profile of the station, which, in 2023/2024, was the least used station in Essex with 6,990 entries and exits.
All 105 children of White Notley CofE Primary School were in fine voice as they braved the cold to sing Christmas carols to locals on Tuesday 10 December.
After singing on the platform, the Year 5 and 6 students boarded a Greater Anglia train towards Braintree to serenade other passengers with more Christmas carols – marking for some children their very first time travelling on a train.
While the station is unstaffed, it is supported by Greater Anglia’s Station Adoption scheme. The scheme enables individuals or groups to adopt their local railway station and contribute to its use and welfare for the benefit of their community. White Notley Station has been adopted by Scott Dolling and his family since 2023.
Jayne Sumner, Essex & South Suffolk CRP officer, said: “It was lovely to see the platform alive and singing with so many children. To hear the pupils in such fine voice and see their smiles as they visited the station was a fantastic festive treat.”
Patsy Fitzpatrick, headteacher at White Notley CofE Primary School, said: “The school and the station are important parts of this community so we thought it would be a great idea to connect the two in this way.”
Scott Dolling, White Notley Station Adopter, said: “We lived at the station house here and my parents were the crossing keepers for many years. When I heard about White Notley being the least used station, our family wanted to try and help get it known for being more than that, so we have created a few events to inspire people to use their local station more.
“This link with the school has seen the station busier than ever before and the carols on the platform were truly beautiful.”
Alan Neville, Greater Anglia’s community & customer engagement manager, said: “This is a wonderful initiative, and we are very grateful to the Station Adopters and Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership for the great work they are doing to put railways at the heart of the communities they serve and create a sense of pride in young people for their local railway station.”
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from the Essex & South Suffolk CRP via their website.
