On a trip on the historic Settle-Carlisle railway, Year 5 pupils from Barkerend Primary Leadership Academy fuelled their interest in STEM studies whilst soaking up the breath-taking scenery.
The group of 30 pupils, many of whom were experiencing train travel for the first time, took in the scenic landscape of the Yorkshire Three Peaks as they travelled on the celebrated line from Bradford to the historic Ribblehead Viaduct – lauded as an engineering masterpiece when it opened in 1875.
The trip, which took place during Community Rail Week, aimed to help pupils engage with their STEM studies by witnessing first-hand extraordinary feats of engineering.
On the journey to the viaduct, the pupils took part in a STEM eye-spy challenge where they were tasked with identifying engineering landmarks on the route, such as the Bingley Three Rise locks, Keighley’s Worth Valley Railway and semaphore signals.
After disembarking at Ribblehead station, pupils took a short tour to marvel at the 400m long viaduct. Chartered engineer Andrew Walker, who worked on the viaduct’s refurbishment in 2021, taught the children about the structure’s history and its four-year construction programme.
The experience culminated with a return to the station, where pupils were tasked with putting their new-found knowledge of construction into practice by building their own version of the viaduct using different materials.
