TWO new arrivals at a village school are helping to get pupils onboard a new initiative.
Kirk Merrington Primary School, near Spennymoor, is creating a library and a wellbeing centre – in two disused railway carriages.
A surge in pupil numbers saw the school outgrow its existing facilities and the previous library turned into a classroom and the books moved to shelves on the corridors.
The school fundraised and worked with Network Rail to acquire a disused pacer train, and volunteers from the company laid track for two carriages to stand on.
They were recently transported to the school, rolled from a low loader vehicle across the car park and secured in place ready to be transformed into an imaginative learning environment.
The seats will be removed, flooring improved, lighting installed and a platform built.
Once the work is complete, the children will be able to use the library and wellness hub to support their education and there are plans to enable the wider community to use the space.
Headteacher Nicola Murray said: “We are very excited about this project and the creation of an amazing and exciting learning environment for the children to ‘Dare to Dream’ and re-engage with their love of reading.
“We are looking to repurpose our school library furniture to have relaxed seating as well as keeping some of the original carriage seating and tables. We also think our teachers can be creative too in their lessons in history, geography and science as we are a region that is steeped in railway history.
“We would like to thank Mick Hodgson and Network Rail for their support with this project, as without them we would not be in a position to create something special for our children at Kirk Merrington.”
School secretary Lesley Smith, who came up with the idea, said: "There is so much excitement in school and the village around the project and we have so many ideas on how to make it a magical place."
Mick Hodgson, route operations manager for Network Rail’s North and East route, said: “When I heard about the school’s plans, I knew our teams could help. I’m so proud of them for getting involved and volunteering their skills.
“This project means Kirk Merrington Primary School will have a library again and it will provide space for additional learning activities for many years to come.
“We really enjoyed being a part of this amazing project and we’re looking forward to seeing the transformation.”
Volunteers from Kiernan Construction worked with ISG on the site and GCS Johnson teams transported the carriages.
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