CHILDREN at Parkend Primary school travelled back in time last month for an “exciting” lesson in the history of transport in the Forest of Dean.

Pupils in the Year 3 and 4 ‘Fox’ classes at the school took part in a special workshop on the history of rail in the Forest on Thursday, April 20.

The one-off session was delivered by Dave Rogers of Gloucester Rugby Heritage as part of an ongoing project to share the history of the club with local communities, and because the children are learning about local history this term.

The pupils described the session as “fun” and said it was “interesting” to find out that places in the local area which they know well used to have a railway running through them.

During the sessions, the children learnt about how transport has changed over the years in the Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire.

They then set about making posters so that they could share what they’d learnt with others at the school.

(Parkend School)

Leah of Fox class said of the session: “It was fun because you got to learn about trains in the past.”

Tilly (pictured) added: ”I really enjoyed designing the poster on the laptops.”

And Isabel J commented: “It was interesting to see what places in the local area used to look like - some places, like Coleford (by the Co-op), used to have a railway running through.”

Gloucester Rugby Heritage was formed in the late 2000s by preservation charity Gloucestershire Archives and Gloucester Rugby Club.

It was converted into its own Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2016, with the aim of advancing the education of the public in the history of Gloucester Rugby Club, and the part it has played in the life of the City of Gloucester and county of Gloucestershire.