‘Stop Smashing our Windows’ – Flimby Primary School.

Community Rail Cumbria approached Flimby Primary School back in 2018 to adopt the village train station. The train station at Flimby lacked colour, was unwelcoming and there were incidents of vandalism, Community Rail Cumbria and Northern hoped the adoption would help tackle these issues.
With support from Northern the children started to go on various educational trips using the train, this known as the ‘outdoor classroom’ concept. Some of the children visited Maryport Library and got their own library cards to loan books, every class visited the Millom Discovery Centre, Senhouse Museum and Tullie House which linked into the schools local history topic on their curriculum. These opportunities have enabled the children to widen their knowledge and understanding of the world through looking at timetables, ticket prices and visiting places beyond the village.
These experiences have proved invaluable for the children of Flimby as they live in a deprived area that has both social and economic issues. Some of the children only go to the nearest towns of Maryport and Workington on a bus so the train journeys have not only been enjoyable and worthwhile but they have also broadened their horizons.
Flimby Primary School have also been involved with the Allerdale Community Learning and Development team to promote a series of workshops for the children, parents and grand-parents.
A special project they embarked on was with The Colourful North and Workington Academy.
This was completely different to anything they had attempted before. It involved pupils and staff from both schools and gave the children the opportunity to create a piece of artwork that was bright, colourful, reflecting Flimby’s location (by the sea) and put Flimby on the map!
The final result was shared on both schools FB pages, the local newspaper, and with wonderful comments from the local community here in Flimby. Here are some of the quotes:
“Brightened me up on this miserable morning.”
“It is brilliant, I saw the children in action yesterday and they were having a great time. It’s a wonderful design and really brightens up the station. What an improvement, well done everyone involved.”
“This was an absolutely amazing experience for our children to be part of. The memories they will have made throughout this whole process will stay with them forever. From the planning stages to making it happen today is just magical. They can admire their own work for many years to come with pride & think I was part of that.”