With two newly appointed education officers, the Churnet Valley Railway can offer schools the opportunity to enhance classroom-based lessons by engaging in a Living History Day or, if there are sufficient children, to tailor-make a full day’s experience of the school’s own choosing.

Living History days in 2008 will have the following themes:

• The Evacuation Experience
  
  We are offering a chance for school children to leave the classroom and be "Evacuated" to the countryside by Steam Train. They can experience first hand what life was like for children who were uprooted from home by train in 1940 and moved to remote rural areas and had to live away from home during the Second World War.
  
  The children will be issued with Ration Books which are mandatory if they want to use their spending money in the souvenir shop.
  

Dates:

- Wednesday 12th March 2008

- Wednesday 16th April 2008

- Tuesday 3rd June 2008

- Wednesday 18th June 2008

• Junior Explorer Day
  choose from:
  
• Discovering the wildlife of the Churnet Valley
  OR
  
• How a steam railway operates and what are the various jobs on the railway
  OR
  
•  Life on the Caldon Canal: what were the boats like ? What cargos did they carry ? Why was the canal so close to the railway

Dates:

- Tuesday 1st July 2008

- Tuesday 8th July 2008

On all these experiences a return journey along the unique Churnet Valley is included, as will be relevant work materials.

Wednesdays in July are other possible dates in the summer term when parties can be accommodated. It would also be possible to tailor-make a day visit for a school or group of schools at other times of the year.

If you require further details or would like to explore other possibilities of organised day visits please contact the Education Officers by telephone; 01538 360522 or by e-mail

THE SENTINEL Thursday March 13, 2008

WARTIME: Youngsters stepped into the shoes of evacuees during an excursion to an historic railway station.

Ex-servicemen and education officers were on hand to give the youngsters, including nine-year-old Conor, pictured, from Seabridge Primary School, Newcastle, a clear picture of what it was like to grow up in war-torn Britain. They also had the chance to sample wartime fare, including Poor Man's Goose, a liver dish and Walton Pie, a mixture of vegetables. They were also shown how to use ration books.

The Evacuee Experience, at the Churnet Valley Railway, is one of several All Living History Days to give children first-hand experience of times gone by. Voluntary education officer Graham Joiner said: "It Is an attempt to recreate the evacuation experience. "We had a very good day and the children enjoyed it."

Picture: Malcolm Hart