On Wednesday, 10th December, passengers on a Greater Anglia train in Essex were treated to Christmas carols by schoolchildren from White Notley Primary School.

The children had walked from White Notley Primary School to White Notley station, where they sang carols before joining passengers on a Greater Anglia train to Braintree.

Led by Patsy Fitzpatrick, the Head of School, they gave a performance of Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

The Christmas treat was organised by Scott Dolling, a station adopter, in partnership with Greater Anglia and the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership/ Scott commented that it was wonderful to see so many smiling faces at the station, with many of the children travelling on a train for the first time.

He added that connecting the community to its local station is at the heart of what station adopters do, and this visit was a really fun and positive example of that.

Greater Anglia has a network of adopters at almost all of its stations, where they are actively involved in the ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme, where individuals or groups contribute to the use and welfare of their station, and its links with the local communities. White Notley was adopted in 2021 under the scheme.

Christmas cheer could also be found earlier this month, when Father Christmas could be seen on Northern trains handing out presents.

“We were absolutely delighted to support this festive trip. Activities like this help connect communities with their local railway, making stations welcoming and vibrant places. It’s wonderful to see young people experiencing the railway in such a memorable and positive way.”

Alan Neville, Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager