The Civic Society has the aim of supporting people to be active citizens and to contribute positively to our town. We do this in many ways, but one of our major activities is LOOK DRAW BUILD @ Reading & Bristol Stations. This is a creative learning programme that uses the transport terminal of Reading Station to inform, and inspire, some 450 Primary Schools students in Reading every year. 2025 is our 4th year delivering the project.
During a classroom-based modelling workshop, led by architects and engineers, the children are guided and supported to build their own railway station. At the end of the workshop, when we have left, the classes are asked to choose a model station to represent it in an Inter-School Competition. The submitted models are assessed against set criterial by group of professionals, the “top 3” receive Gold/ Silver/ Bronze Plaques, books on engineering and architecture and are publicly exhibited by the project team.
Delivered for the first time in 2022 to 10 Reading schools in 2025 nine Bristol schools have been added to the programme.
The objective of the programme, delivered by ARCHI-adventure, in partnership with the Reading Civic Society, is to encourage young children to connect practically with architecture, engineering and the public space and the history and future of the railway.
The Civic Society was approached to see if we wished to support an initiative by Gemma Solanellas, of Archi-Adventure, who had moved from Caversham to her home city of Barcelona. Gemma had acquired £4,000 Community Funding from Great Western Railways for a project to engage Primary School Children (years 5/6) in the architecture of buildings, specifically that of stations. We thought it sounded a great project and said yes immediately.
The project was delivered for the first time in 2022 with around 450 children in 15 classes at 9 Primary Schools in Reading who built 150 model stations. The programme was funded by Great Western Railways and our Gold Sponsor of Haslams Estate Agents. Delivery partners were Stantec, Weston & Co Architects and architect Matt Andrews. Resources for the schools are provided free, thanks to funding from Great Western Railway (GWR) and Haslams Estate Agents.
Schools have told us that many of their children have not been to a station and certainly not on a train. An important part of the project therefore is the visit to Reading Station for the participating classes. The programme funds the children’s transport when necessary. The visits are hosted by the Senior Accessibility Manager at GWR. The children are shown how to navigate a complex station like Reading, how to purchase tickets, use timetables and most importantly to understand the importance of safety around and on the railway.
In 2023, the programme was delivered to 540 children in 18 classes at 10 schools. It was funded by Great Western Railways, sponsored by Haslams Estate Agents and supported by Network Rail, Stantec, Ridge, Weston & Co Architects, and Ways and Means Trust.
In 2024 we delivered the programme to 10 schools across Reading, including 2 SEN schools during May. Our grant providers were; National Lottery Heritage Fund, Royal Academy of Engineering and Haslams Estate Agents. Our delivery partners were Stantec, Ridge & Partners, Weston & Co Architects. Other volunteers include a graduate architect and a graduate sculptor from Edinburgh University, a former Deputy Head of an SEN school, members of the Civic Society and a Consultant Project/ IT manager.
Look Draw Build @ Reading Station 2025
We are delighted to have been awarded grants of £8,000 from the Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious Awards Follow on Fund, £3,000 from Network Rail, £3,000 from The Earley Charity, (to reach schools in their area of benefit) and £1,000 from The Rotary Club of Reading.
A number of engineering and architectural businesses (as shown in the logo above), provided their young STEM Ambassadors to assist us to deliver the workshops in schools.
As in all previous years the programme was managed by the Civic Society and ARCHI-Adventure.
The 2025 programme in Reading
This ran during February (Station visits) and March (workshops in classes) with 15 classes from 10 participating primary schools (included 2 SEN) across the town.
On 27 March the Mayor of Reading, Cllr Glenn Dennis, was the principal guest at an event at Haslams Estate Agents where the results of the 2025 competition were announced. The top three designs were chosen by a panel, formed of professional engineers and architects and representatives from GWR, Weston & Co Architects, STANTEC, Mott Macdonald & Ridge & Partners. They evaluated information submitted by teachers about the 15 model railway stations selected by classes from the 10 schools. They used set criteria to evaluate and rank each model, ultimately deciding which ones received the Gold, Silver or Bronze awards.
The 3 winning model stations were L-R; Hillside (Gold), Calcot (Silver) and Micklands (Bronze).
The next day the team presented the Gold/ Silver and Bronze Plaques to the winning classes and books about Architecture and Engineering. The models were collected for display in the The Oracle Shopping Centre on 29 March. Our thanks to the Oracle team for enabling us to hold an exhibition about the project along with the 3 winning models.
Extending along the main line to Bristol
At the end of the 2024 Reading programme we were asked by Network Rail to consider delivering this project in Bristol as they were looking to engage children in the area about the several new stations they are building. So for the first time, in 2025, we will also deliver to 9 schools across Bristol, during April and May.
We have updated the video about the History and future of the Railways and the key features of a station to include Bristol Temple Meads. The sections on Bristol Temple Meads station run from 8:27 minutes to 10:34 minutes.
For more detailed information on the programme, including a video, go to LOOK DRAW BUILD @ Reading Station (ARCHI-adventure). This video was made when there was just Reading in the programme, but it does highlight the principles.
The participating children have been visiting Bristol Temple Meads station.
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 (this is the video that was shown as part of the Bristol part of the programme)
We will be adding more updates as the activities progress.
Activity sponsors
…Find out more…
LOOK DRAW BUILD Bristol Awards Night (5 June)
LOOK DRAW BUILD 2025
