What makes this a great venue for School group Fun or Educational Visits?

The West Somerset Railway give children the opportunity to experience first hand what it would be like to be evacuated by re-enacting this period in World War 2. The children will be able to travel on a steam train and see stations along the line that have been restored to their appearance from the 1930's onwards.

What are the Curriculum Topics or Benefit to the students from a visit?

The trip is useful to children studying aspects of WW2. Our suggested route is to travel from Minehead (a town) to Bishops Lydeard (the countryside) simulating the evacuation experience. The carriage will be decorated with facsimiles of appropriate civil defence posters from WW2.

What are the activities?

We provide on train guides who dress in period costume and provide an interactive talk for the children as the journey progresses. We encourage staff and pupils to dress up in costume as well and to bring their “luggage” and “gas masks” with them. The children are provided with a key evacuation facts booklet as part of their day out. Once at Bishops Lydeard there is a walk to the church hall and a simulated billeting exercise.

What is the age range of the activities?

Suitable for ages 9 to 12 years old. Outside of this range the programme content can be adjusted by prior consultation.

What materials to you provide or suggest groups bring to support the visit?

We would recommend staff and children dress in costume representing the late 1930’s period. A good activity pre the visit is to make gas mask boxes in class. We can supply details of how to do this. Making name labels and postcards to be sent home is also a good pre-visit activity to add to the sense of realism for the children.

What are the minimum and maximum group sizes and the free Teacher Ratio?

Minimum group size is 16 people maximum is 64. Including teachers and support staff.

Do you have or how do you arrange risk assessment?

We have full risk assessments for the normal operation of the railway on a day to day basis. Unfortunately we do not provide risk assessments for this trip. If you would like a risk assessment then this must be carried out by the school. We will be able to arrange your travel for a risk assessment to be done if you contact us advance.

Do you offer Teacher familiarisation days?

Yes we are happy to host the lead teacher(s) on a familiarisation day. Specific needs can be discussed on this day as can customisation of the standard package offered.

What facilities are there for school groups for food and drink, shop etc?

We do have small cafes and shops at Minehead and Bishops Lydeard however due to the timescales of our normal educational visits there may not be enough time to visit the café or shop. We suggest that packed lunches are brought with the pupils to eat on the train or in the church hall. Full toilet facilities are available at Minehead, Bishops Lydeard, the church hall and of course on the train.

Is specific clothing required?

See above (we suggest dressing up.) Waterproof clothing may also be required for the walk to the church hall.

Do you have first aid on site?

We have first aid on site and lots of first aid trained members of staff.

Are there any restrictions on photos, copyright etc?

No- the party may take photographs during the whole trip.