Age Concern volunteers are helping out youngsters in schools across County Durham. Women's Editor Christen Pears reports on a project that is bridging the generation gap.

SCHOOLS have changed enormously since Dianne Rutter was a pupil but, sitting at a low table, surrounded by children, she looks perfectly at home in the classroom. The 65-year-old is a volunteer for TransAge Action, a project running in County Durham schools which is bringing together old and young in a way that benefits them both.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Age Concern County Durham began recruiting volunteers for the scheme, looking for older people to help out in their local school. It was piloted at Benfieldside Primary School near Consett and now has ten volunteers working in seven schools across Derwentside. It proved so successful, it is currently being extended to the District of Easington.

Older people often feel marginalised by society, and feel they no longer have anything to contribute, explains project co-ordinator Diana Hinns.

"When you get older, it's easy to stay in and just spend your time staring at the four walls but research shows that the more active you keep both physically and mentally, the healthier you will be and the longer you will live. TransAge motivates people and it gives them something to get up for," she says.

"They help out in all sorts of ways: reading, writing, craft activities, anything the teacher wants. We leave it up to the teacher because they know what is best for their class. If a child's goldfish has died the night before, for example, that child might need a bit more TLC or they may be behind with their work and need a bit of extra help.

"The volunteers love it because it gives them a sense of purpose. The teacher loves it because it's an extra pair of hands in the classroom and the children love it because they're getting extra attention."

Dianne has been a volunteer at Benfieldside since the project started. She had just retired from her job in the local authority's housing benefits department when she spotted a poster advertising the TransAge scheme on the noticeboard at church.

"I have spent a lot of time working with children - scouts, Sunday school and groups at church - and I knew it was something I would like to do. I wanted to be a practical help to the children and that's exactly how it's turned out."

It's clear she's built up a rapport with the youngsters. She can't walk down the street now, she says, without someone she knows from school saying hello or stopping for a chat.

"You do build up a relationship with the pupils and I feel that I'm relating to the community through them. It's a wonderful feeling, especially for me because my grandchildren live away and I don't get to spend as much time with them as some grandparents do. I've never really thought about it before but the children at school are like surrogate grandchildren."

She's currently working with two classes and usually takes charge of small groups of children, mostly those who need a bit of extra help. She sits with them during the lesson and then, when the teacher has finished talking, helps them understand the topic, whether it's literacy, numeracy, science or geography.

"If I wasn't there, they wouldn't get that extra coaching. The teacher has 32 children in the class so there's no way he's going to get time to spend with them in the same way I can."

She's also just completed the training for the Better Reading scheme, a new national initiative. For ten weeks, she'll be listening to two children read, helping them to improve their skills.

She admits to feeling guilty if she has to miss a session for any reason. Last year, she spent six weeks working in a school in India and although it meant time away from Benfieldside, she's been talking to pupils about her experience. It's been an ideal way of teaching them about another culture.

But it isn't only the children who benefit from TransAge. Although Dianne has always kept busy, she knows there are other volunteers who found retirement difficult.

"Some people feel they're not worth anything any more when they retire, or they don't know how to fill their time. This makes them feel involved and they're doing something positive."

Diana tells the story of one woman who used to sit looking out of her window, wishing the weeds would grow so she would have something to do. She's now a TransAge volunteer and, according to Diana, is never in.

She says: "She has something to focus on and friends she would never have met otherwise. It's opened up a whole new world for her."

Volunteers receive training before they start work and most start off doing just one session a week, either a morning or an afternoon. Many, like Dianne, choose to do more, and some work in more than one school.

TransAge is being expanded both geographically and in scope, and new initiatives include getting older people involved in mother and toddler groups. Older women can pass on their expertise and share experiences with young mums. At Blackhall, there are plans for a community allotment scheme where current allotment holders pass on their skills to the younger generation but younger people can also be teachers. Diana hopes to start work in secondary schools, where pupils can teach older people about computers and information technology.

Diana says: "Intergenerational work is hugely important to us. The old are afraid of young people and the young people can't be bothered with older ones. We try to do everything we can to link older and young people together and TransAge is a brilliant way of bringing them together."

* TransAge Action is looking for more volunteers. To find out more about the opportunities available, contact Age Concern on 0191-3863856.