By Gavin Mackintosh-
An East London primary school has taken delivery of two old train carriages, one of which will be turned into a library.
Upshire Primary Foundation School in Waltham Abbey requested the decommissioned carriages, one of which was first class, to add to their existing library, to encourage children to read and enjoy the process of reading.
The school, rated good by Ofsted, is credited with having a good curriculum and well behaved students who are enthusiastic about learning, and take on responsibilities including those of prefects and house captain.
Head Of Finance, Julie Hockley told The Eye Of Media.Com that pupils from the school will be able to sit in the carriages and read, making ot fun, rather than a chore.
”Our headteacher asked for the carriages, and they were donated bu a company called Porters Brook. We have two first class carriages , where children can relax and read, and enjoy the process of reading. It will have lots of books and will serve as support classes in addition to our existing library.
‘We have had lots of donations which has exceeded our expectations.
‘It started from a tiny seed designed to encourage reading of our pupils between the ages of 2 and 10. People have been very generous.
‘We have also had students from a local apprenticeship get involved, giving them an opportunity to do something that is hands on, whilst also getting something out of it contributing to their certificate. ”
Both carriages donated previously ran on the King’s Cross to Edinburgh line and were donated to the school for a nominal fee.
Staff from the schoolhad travelled to London to look at old carriages owned by Porterbrook, a company that leases them to train operators, then tries to repurpose them when they reach the end of their working life.
Quality: School library in form of first class train carriage Image: Barry Mcfeat
The first class carriage is to be used as a library and the other carriage will be for extended services such as pre-school and breakfast and afterschool club.
Both carriages will also be available for use by the wider community outside of school hours once they are completed.
Upshire primary school regularly tests the progress of their pupil’s reading, including assessing their developmwent of vocabulary and constructon of sentences.
The commitmernt of its teachers to the educsation of puipls that attend the school is one of the reasons many parents in the area an beyond rush to to get their children attending the school.