Nottinghamshire pupils inspired by HS2 design a railway for the future
Pupils at Annesley Primary in Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, are among the first to take part in HS2 Ltd’s brand new education programme, which encourages pupils to present their ideas on what Britain’s future rail network might look like.
Specifically designed for pupils aged 7-11, the workshop-based learning programme focuses on STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and encourages pupils to work together to plan, design and build a new railway for the future.
In a series of hands-on and interactive challenges, pupils work as a team and put their problem solving skills into practice as they are tasked with designing a railway, which meets the needs of the modern day traveller, between fictional towns and cities.
Kate Myers, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Skills, Employment and Education explains:
For today’s school pupils, HS2 is probably the largest engineering programme that will take place in this country in their lifetime. It’s really important that we capture the significance of that in a compelling and interesting way so pupils understand not just the challenges of delivering a project of this scale, but the benefits and opportunities it will bring now and into the future.
We’re introducing pupils to the wide range of diverse career opportunities that HS2 is creating, and inspiring them to think about how they might play a part in this once in a lifetime project.
With HS2 set to arrive in the East Midlands in 2033, today’s school pupils could help to tackle the UK’s growing engineering skills gap. The aim of the education programme is to inspire pupils to think about how the STEAM subjects they learn at school could set them on the path to becoming the apprentices, engineers and train drivers of the future.
HS2 will transform rail travel in the UK, give passengers thousands of extra seats every day, take freight off our roads and free up space for more local rail services on existing lines. It will play a crucial role in rebalancing Britain’s economy and is already supporting over 9.000 jobs with 2,000 businesses already having won work on the project.
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Notes to Editors
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HS2 will transform Britain’s railways: HS2 takes inter-city trains off the line, opening up the ability for more localised services with over 100 cities and towns benefitting. It will deliver a travel experience as yet unseen in this country, with a fast, reliable and affordable service. It will unlock a massive amount of space on the existing railway, creating thousands of extra seats for passengers and taking freight off the roads.
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HS2 will better connect Britain: Serving over 25 towns from Scotland to the South East, HS2 links nearly half of the UK population. It is needed in order to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail. Together these better connections will unleash the economic potential of the country. Local plans around HS2 sites show nearly 500,000 jobs and 90,000 houses are planned.
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HS2 is happening: There are now 9,000 jobs supported by the programme and 2,000 businesses (70% SMEs) that have provided work. Works on HS2 are well underway with over 250 active sites.