Severnside, Gloucestershire, TransWilts, and Worcestershire Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) have joined together to launch Platform, a dynamic rail-education scheme connecting schools and young people to the rail industry.

Through workshops, train-trips and bespoke local resources, Platform helps teachers to build their students’ knowledge of rail-safety, their understanding of sustainable and healthy travel and their confidence in using trains.

In 2021, Severnside, Gloucestershire, TransWilts, and Worcestershire Community Rail Partnerships joined together with a shared vision of developing an education offer, across their areas, that would successfully support schools in their engagement with the rail industry. They had a collective goal of creating a team who could deliver in-school workshops, encourage schools to use the railway, and create bespoke, rail-related resources that linked tightly to the curriculum.

With funding and support from Great Western Railway (GWR), Cross Country, and Community Rail Network, the four CRPs were delighted to be able to move their joint education scheme from an idea to a reality. A steering group was formed and, with the assistance and guidance of Bristol-based educational consultants Sustainable Hive, the group set out to hire a team that could bring their vision for rail-education across their areas to life. In January 2022, the joint education scheme team  – which includes qualified teachers – was formed and Platform was launched a few months later on 1 April 2022.

Find out more and download Platform’s resources here: https://platformrail.org/