Bagnalls Transforms The Dales School’s Library-On-Tracks Train – Watch the Reveal on Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces

01 February 2023

Every day is different at Bagnalls! Just recently, our North East team was lucky enough to work on a unique and attention-grabbing project with The Dales School.

Based in Northumberland, The Dales School specialises in education for primary school children with additional needs that aren’t catered for in mainstream education. Its teachers are going above and beyond to help create a welcoming environment for children. James Groundwater, for example, spent the summer holidays working on an extremely unique project that encourages education without being overstimulating – and contacted Bagnalls to bring his vision to life.

Bagnalls was contacted by the school to redecorate an old train and give it a new life as a library. We transformed the vehicle into an unrecognisable space, with freshly painted walls and an impressive exterior. The train now has its own track, station, ticket office and driving simulator. Not only is this lots of fun, but it may also inspire children to pursue a career within the railway sector!

Thanks to the help of its local community, The Dales School now has a unique space for nurturing the minds of children. So, it’s no surprise that the library-on-tracks has caught the eye of TV personality George Clarke. The train appeared on Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces on Monday 30th January!

Dr Sue Fisher, Head Teacher at The Dales School has commented:

“We are incredibly proud to be featured on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. It just shows how our school goes above and beyond for our pupils, making learning accessible, engaging and fun. A huge thank you to all the local community, funders and businesses that have helped to make the school train something we can all truly be proud to be part of. Without James’ vision and your help, this fantastic project would not have happened.”

We loved working on this project, and we hope the pupils at The Dales School enjoy their uniquely engaging new learning environment!