The story of the Lancashire school children set to visit Germany and the Netherlands continues to unfold – with the latest twists including injured staff members and new friendships being formed.
With just three days to go before the children set off, co-organiser of the trip Brian Haworth of Lancashire County Council has injured his arm having tripped and fallen, but he is resolute that nothing will stop him joining the expedition. He said: “I decided that taking 29 eight and nine year-olds to Germany was not challenging enough, so I made it more challenging!”
Meanwhile, the pupils in Grade 3 at Domsingschule in Aachen have been writing to the UK peers, sending ‘All about me’ booklets to introduce themselves to their new friends. The Padiham Green pupils have written back and looking forward to practicing their German language skills when they meet up in person next week.
The Padiham Green pupils have also been visited by their local mayor, and have received a range of Lancashire produce to give to their new Aachen friends, provided by generous local businesses. Farmhouse Biscuits provided a selection of their traditional biscuits. Padiham Tesco donated water bottles for the trip and locally produced goods such as Eccles cakes and Chorley buns. And the highlight was a visit to Moorhouse’s to collect some Lancashire brewed ale!
The trip is the children’s well-earned reward for delivering a fantastic presentation and warm welcome to Citizens’ Rail’s European partners during their meeting in Lancashire in July (read the full story so far).
The children have been busy raising funds through various events at school to contribute towards the visit. Additional funding for the trip is being provided by Citizens’ Rail, the DCRDF Fund, UK German Connection and Abellio.
Follow the children’s trip on their own fantastic blog
