A Cumbrian primary school has a new classroom to promote science, technology, engineering and maths, thanks to the Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company.
Settle Primary School’s STEM room opened last month and will be accessible to local schools and communities across the Settle-Carlisle line.
The primary school, working with the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company, has been working towards a STEM curriculum, becoming the Rolls-Royce Science Prize finalists and Employee Choice Winners (2018), Farmvention STEM National Finalists 2019 and 2020, and is currently the only school in North Yorkshire to have been in three consecutive national STEM finals.
Katie Chesworth, projects and social media manager of the Settle-Carlisle Railway, said: “We aim to work with schools along the Settle-Carlisle Railway Line to encourage STEM education to as many schools as possible. We know how important STEM education is, and look forward to working with schools, and show the wide range of employment opportunities available within the rail industry.
The Settle-Carlisle Railway has been at the forefront of this project, sourcing funding from Northern Trains, Avanti West Coast, Cross Country Trains, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Community Rail Network, Settle Rotary, and Settle Middle School Legacy Fund.
Richard Wright, executive headteacher of Settle and Malhamdale Primary Partnership, added: “With thanks to the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company, we now have a brand new STEM studio resource that we can use to continue the important work we began before the pandemic.
“We now look forward with great excitement to championing the teaching and learning of STEM subjects to children across the locality for many years to come and to continuing the momentum that was established pre-COVID 19. We are very grateful for the amazing support that we have received. It is most definitely true that without the help of our sponsors we would not have been able to have this superb facility.”
