HANDFORTH schoolchildren have given rail passengers an early Christmas gift, by helping to light up the station over the festive period.

The Friends of Handforth Station have this year called upon St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School to design and create a vibrant art display to bring colour to the dark evenings.

Knutsford Guardian:

Children in the Reception class have been busy creating three colourful stained-glass effect Christmas windows to light up the station’s ‘Art in a Box’ displays this Christmas.

The theme behind this year’s display is ‘Children preparing for Christmas’.

Knutsford Guardian:

Reception class teacher Andrea Ogden said: “All the children and teachers in the class have been involved, and have had great fun sticking our colourful pieces of cellophane to different sections of the pictures, particularly on the Father Christmas and his Reindeer picture.

“The murals depict children singing carols at The Paddock in Handforth and then returning home to finish decorating the tree.

Knutsford Guardian:

“During the night Father Christmas visits and, in the morning, the children open their presents in front of the fire.

“I’m very proud of the children – it took a lot of patience, but they worked slowly and carefully to make sure they put their pieces in the right place.

Knutsford Guardian:

“We are all very pleased with the end result, and we hope our pictures give local residents and passers-by a warm glow every time they pass the station.”

Andrew Backhouse, chair of Friends of Handforth Station, said: “It is wonderful that our local schools can link in to the station like this.

“It shows what a great community we have in Handforth, and how the best schools can cover so much more than just academic studies.”