At Porterbrook, supporting upcoming talent and encouraging innovation across the industry is a key part of our commitment to the future of the railway. Our partnership with Primary Engineer, the not-for-profit organisation that aims to help children achieve their full potential through engagement with engineering, facilitates this ambition.
2026 marked the fourth year of Porterbrook and Primary Engineer’s successful roll out of the Primary Engineer Rail Programme for schools local to the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre. This is an initiative focused on inspiring the next generation and making careers in rail more accessible to young people. By helping fund and providing a team of engineering professionals, Porterbrook aids Primary Engineer in delivering a campaign that builds educators’ confidence in teaching STEM subjects and creates engineering opportunities for school children. Through the programme, Porterbrook engineers visited local Warwickshire schools multiple times for days filled with engaging hands-on learning activities.
On April 15th, Porterbrook welcomed students to the site to test and exhibit the model trains they had been working on throughout the course. The Porterbrook team interviewed and awarded prizes for their innovation and creativity. As part of the day, students boarded Inspiration, the Railway 200 exhibition train, which had been touring the country since June 2025 to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway. The pupils enjoyed an interactive whistle-stop tour illustrating the possible careers the sector has to offer.
A teacher from Snitterfield Primary School: “The children that we’ve brought out, they’ve been absolutely amazed by the train, by the grandeur of everything and they’ve really enjoyed showing what they’ve been able to do.”
Rail LIVE (June 17th -18th), the UK’s largest rail exhibition hosted at Long Marston was another occasion where Primary Engineer and Porterbrook partnered to create an incredible opportunity for school children to get to know the rail industry up-close. We hosted an engineering challenge across the two days where students worked side-by-side with sector VIPs. From interacting with a Special Inspector from the British Transport Police to receiving a medal from Sir Andrew Haines, the Chair of DfTO, the children certainly enjoyed an impressive day out of school.
The Primary Engineer Rail programme is designed to inspire interest in STEM subjects with 100% of teachers involved saying that they believe that the training they have received has helped them understand how they can make an impact on engineering career aspirations. One teacher from Stratford Primary stated that the course had even built up his own “confidence and understanding”.
We are proud to be partners with a not-for-profit organisation like Primary Engineer who are helping you people build interest, develop technical skills and consider careers in engineering. 100% of the pupils who attended these events said they now understand that engineering is a career that anyone can have. We look forward to what the future holds for our continued partnership with Primary Engineer, who create initiatives that inspire younger generations and help drive innovation across the industry.
