The Civic Society has the aim of supporting people to be active citizens and to contribute positively to our town. We do this in many ways, but one of our major activities is LOOK DRAW BUILD @ Reading Station. This is a creative learning programme that uses the transport terminal of Reading Station to inform, and inspire, some 600 Primary Schools students every year. During a classroom-based modelling workshop, led by architects and engineers, the children are guided and supported to build their own railway station.
The objective of the programme, delivered by ARCHI-adventure, in partnership with the Reading Civic Society, is to encourage young children to connect with architecture and the public space.
The Civic Society was approached to see if we wished to support an initiative by Gemma Solanellas, of Archi-Adventure, who had moved from Caversham to her home city of Barcelona. Gemma had acquired £4,000 Community Funding from Great Western Railways for a project to engage Primary School Children (years 5/6) in the architecture of buildings, specifically that of stations. We thought it sounded a great project and said yes immediately.
The project was delivered for the first time in 2022 with around 450 children in 15 classes at 9 Primary Schools in Reading who built 150 model stations. The programme was funded by Great Western Railways and our Gold Sponsor of Haslams Estate Agents. Delivery partners were Stantec, Weston & Co Architects and architect Matt Andrews. Resources for the schools provided for free thanks to funding from Great Western Railway (GWR) and Haslams Estate Agents.
Schools have told us that many of their children have not been to a station and certainly not on a train. An important part of the project therefore is the visit to Reading Station for the participating classes. The programme funds the children’s transport when necessary. The visits are hosted by the Senior Accessibility Manager at GWR. The children are shown how to navigate a complex station like Reading, how to purchase tickets, use timetables and most importantly to understand the importance of safety around and on the railway.
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