LOOK DRAW BUILD @ Reading Station 2025 ran throughout March in 10 participating primary schools in our town. This year the Programme has been sponsored by a number of charities, engineering and architectural businesses who provide funding, manpower and expertise.
The objective of the programme, delivered by ARCHI-adventure, in partnership with the Reading Civic Society, is to encourage young children to connect with architecture and the public space. You can find more information on our website about this programme which has been running since 2022.
More about the programme, which is now in its third year, and our amazing partners and sponsors who provide funding, manpower and expertise, can be found here.
On 27 March the Mayor of Reading, Cllr Glenn Dennis, was the principal guest at an event to be held at Haslams Estate Agents, Friar Street, where the results of the 2025 competition were announced. The winning designs were chosen by a panel, formed of professional engineers and architects and representatives from GWR, Weston & Co Architects, STANTEC and Mott Macdonald, who will consider 15 model Railway Stations submitted by classes from 11 schools. They use set criteria to evaluate and rank each model, ultimately deciding which ones will receive the Gold, Silver or Bronze awards. The Oracle Shopping Centre hosted an exhibition on Saturday 29 March about the project, where the 3 winning models were displayed from Hillside (gold), Calcot (silver) and Micklands (bronze).
Extending down the Main Line
The March events in Reading mark the end of phase one of the 2025 programme. In April and May, for the first time, we will deliver the project to 9 schools in Bristol, having been encouraged to extend our reach by Network Rail. On 5th June we will be holding an assessment panel to judge the models submitted in the Brunel Breakout room in the Engine Shed in Bristol, and then in the evening we will hold a reception to explain the project and announce the results to the assembled attendees. The reception will also be in the Engine Shed – here are more details.
You can read more about the activities at Bristol on the Reading Civic Society Facebook pages as the children start to learn more about the station, railways in general and this year’s exciting Railway 200 events.
Railway 200
2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the start of the Modern Railway with the opening of the Stockton to Darlington Line. Railway 200 celebrates the past, present and future of rail. We are linking our LOOK DRAW BUILD activities to the project to ensure a wide coverage of what The Reading Civic Society is doing to encourage engineering and architectural understanding in schools in reading and Bristol. Here is some of the coverage of our events:
- Look Draw Build @ Reading & Bristol Stations 2025
- Look Draw Build@Reading & Bristol Station visits for 9 Bristol Primary schools, led by GWR Senior Accessibility mentor
- History of the railway and key features of stations video commissioned by the Look Draw Build@Reading & Bristol Station project
We will be adding more updates as the activities progress.