Arriva Trains Wales | YOUNGSTERS ‘XL’ AT ABERGELE RAILWAY STATION

YOUNGSTERS ‘XL’ AT ABERGELE RAILWAY STATION

Seven pupils from the Prince’s Trust ‘XL Club’ at Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan have successfully completed a refurbishment project with Arriva Trains Wales at Abergele railway station.

Abergele PT Team The project forms part of a sponsorship initiative between Arriva Trains Wales, British Transport Police, Prince's Trust Cymru and ten schools from across Wales. The project helps children with their personal development.

Each of the schools involved are working on a project investigating the negative impact of graffiti on society; which includes a survey of passengers at stations and a visit from a British Transport Police liaison officer who has worked with them to raise awareness of the dangers of playing on or near the railway. They will also be taking part in a poster competition designed to deter graffiti from appearing on the railway.

Dan Twist, ‘XL’ co-ordinator at Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan, said: “The pupils have been looking forward to help paint the station and the pupils can be justifiably proud of their achievements. It is quite possible that some of them will not have held a brush in the past, therefore this project will have given them an opportunity to learn a new skill and make a real difference in the community.”

He continued: “The two days working at the station with Arriva staff has been a truly practical learning experience, which will be of great benefit to them in their future careers. We now hope to take the project one step further by creating some murals for display on the station platforms.”

Abergele Princes Trust Geraint Morgan, community affairs manager for Arriva Trains Wales, said: “The station is an important facility for the town and their hard work has helped to create a bright and welcoming environment for rail users and visitors.”

He added: “The project has helped the youngsters understand the importance of teamwork and the ability to work using their own initiative – both of which they accomplished well. We were very impressed with the pupil’s enthusiasm towards the project - some turned up 40 minutes early on the final day!”