​East Worthing station gets arty

East Worthing railway station has recently been transformed into an outdoor art gallery thanks to artistic students at Davison C.E. High School for Girls.

The station, used by 300 Davison girls a day and other commuters, is now home to paintings created by students proudly displayed on the platform railings. And to add to the welcoming, colourful feel of the station, students have also committed themselves to maintaining the platforms’ plants.

The school has teamed up with Southern, and manager of Southern's local stations, Steve So, for this project.

Richard Shakespeare, Assistant Head Teacher at the school said: “The station partnership came about because we have a large proportion of our students travelling to and from school by train and it is our desire to create the most pleasant of environments that we can both for them and other rail users. Not only does this initiative give our artists a public platform for their work, it helps to promote sustainable travel to school and work.”

Station Manager Steve So, added: "I would like to thank all of the children and their teachers for their efforts at the station. At Southern, we are keen to ensure our stations are at the heart of the communities they serve and I think this partnership really helps to do that here. I think everyone will agree the art and flowers really brighten the platforms.”

Members of the school’s travel team have been instrumental in setting up this and other school projects as part of their bid to be the only secondary school in the area to be awarded Modeshift STARS silver award.

Modeshift STARS is the national schools awards scheme established to recognise schools which have demonstrated excellence in supporting cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable travel.