Do the LOCO-Motion

It was down, down and under the ground for Year 3 students from St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Yate.

Hidden in the former Ash Pits of Brunel’s original station at Bristol Temple Meads, The Loco Klub is a community arts venue that makes use of its original tunnels and Victorian style to create an incredible, historic space.

The Platform team were thrilled, therefore, to take a school group to the venue for a History of Transport workshop. Emilie from Platform had already been in to meet the class and deliver a safety workshop, and so students were well briefed when the team met them at Yate Station for the trip.

They travelled to Bristol Temple Meads and headed down to The Loco Klub, stopping on the way to visit the Brunel statue and discuss his relationship with the railway, the station itself, and the wider area.  The students were excited to head into the mysterious and atmospheric venue, and quickly got settled in tunnel four before launching into the workshop.

Throughout the day, students engaged in a range of transport activities: creating a transport timeline, exploring how different modes of transport have changed over time, and creating their own sustainable transport inventions for the future.

After lunch, the students played the A to Z of transport, trying to come up with a transport mode for every letter of the alphabet. Animals featured heavily (the team were happy to accept camel and donkey, but drew the line at rabbit).

The whole trip was cost-free for the school thanks to GWR providing complimentary travel for rail education, and The Loco Klub’s generosity in letting the team use the space; – they are also members of The Community Rail Network.