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First Great Western accused of ruining Little Mead Primary Academy's trip to seaside
First Great Western accused of ruining Little Mead Primary Academy's trip to seasideThey enjoyed a trip to the seaside last summer, excitedly travelling by train from their local station to visit the pier at Weston-super-Mare.
But this year pupils from Little Mead Primary Academy might miss out on a repeat outing - with teachers threatening to pull the plug on the treat because First Great Western (
FGW▸ ) has refused to allow them to travel together on the same train due to fears of overcrowding and delays.
The rail operator is worried about the impact of 60 pupils and eight teachers boarding a train from Filton Abbey Wood station to the North Somerset town on an off-peak morning service next month. It suggests the school in Southmead travel in two groups instead.
But organiser Jake Howarth-Brown, a teacher at the school, says all the pupils travelled together on a similar off-peak service last year without a problem or any complaints.
He has been informed by FGW that last year's trip caused a delay in the two-carriage service to Weston reaching its destination. But he disputes the claim and says the rail firm has refused to supply evidence to prove a hold up caused by the school had been recorded.
Mr Howarth-Brown says his pupils must arrive in Weston together - because they have a pre-arranged workshop to attend on the pier before they plan to enjoy rides, go on the beach and have ice-cream.
FGW says it cannot accommodate all 68 passengers because it is expecting the train on June 19 to be a busy service. The firm says it is unable to add an extra carriage to the train due to a national shortage of rolling stock.
However, Mr Howarth-Brown says that when children boarded the train at exactly the same time last year - 9.42am in late June - there were 30 people on a service with a capacity of 180.
He said canceling the trip would cause huge disappointment for parents and Year 2 children, some of whom are from deprived backgrounds and have never been on a train before or been to the seaside.
Mr Howarth-Brown said the rail operator was "discriminating against children".
Of the accusation the school caused a delay last year, Mr Howarth-Brown said: "They said we took too long to board with that many children and it would be a risk to do it again this year. But if you had three or four disabled people boarding it would take just as long.
"We are being discriminated against because we are travelling with children. There are enough doors on each carriage to get on and off easily.
"A woman from First Great Western said they would leave us on the platform rather than let us on the train. It's ludicrous - as a public service we've had a load of excuses as to why it isn't possible. I could understand it if it was peak time but we are going there and back outside of the rush hour."
Seats for the journey cannot be booked but tickets for the trip can be booked. Mr Howarth-Brown received an email a day after booking the tickets to say the two classes could not travel together on the train.
He said: "I explained that travelling in two groups wasn't an option from the start. It wasn't a problem last year when we all got on the same service.
"If there were any problems last year, First Great Western should have contacted the school and said it didn't work out. But that wasn't the case at all. It was a seamless journey.
"We can't go in two groups because both classes need to be at the pier for a workshop - and we also need to be together for the pupil to staff ratio."
Mr Howarth says the trip is only affordable if travel is by rail, with the school taking advantage of group discounts to bring the cost to ^2 per pupil for the return journey. He said hiring a coach was out of the question because it was too expensive, at three times the cost.
James Davis, spokesman for First Great Western, said: "We would be delighted to be able to help Little Mead school visit the seaside in June, however due to the large size of the group on what is already expected to be a busy train we are not able to accommodate them on a single service. We have asked the school to split the children into two groups travelling within 35 minutes of each other."
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