Northern asks schools to tackle pupils' fare evasion

The rail provider said it had dealt with a catalogue of incidents since September last year

A rail firm has written to head teachers at 11 secondary schools and academies across the north of England asking for help tackling "persistent, calculated fare evasion" by students.

Northern said since September last year it had also dealt with ticket fraud, anti-social behaviour, and verbal and physical assaults on conductors and station staff.

On one occasion it had asked British Transport Police to help maintain order, it added.

Mark Powles of Northern said: “We’ve seen students climb on station canopies and assault station staff in order to avoid ticket checks - It’s completely unacceptable."

“That’s why we’re calling on head teachers to help us identify repeat offenders,” he said.

However, some of the schools said they had not been contacted over the issue until receiving "a generic letter" earlier this week.

The schools that Northern has written to are (in alphabetical order):

• Bingley Grammar in West Yorkshire

• Hazel Grove High School in Greater Manchester

• Highfields College in Greater Manchester

• Knutsford High School in Cheshire

• Nunthorpe Academy in North Yorkshire

• Rainhill High School in Merseyside

• Reddish Vale High School in Greater Manchester

• Sutton Academy in Merseyside

• Turton High School in Greater Manchester

• Ulverston Victoria High School in Cumbria

• Wilmslow High School in Cheshire

One of the schools, Rainhill High School in Merseyside, said it was "disappointed and surprised" to have been mentioned without any direct communication from Northern.

A spokeswoman for the school said it would like a representative from the rail provider to meet staff "to help find a solution together".

"We are fortunate to work in close partnership with our families, and so we will be discussing this matter with them in due course," she added.

Ulverston Victoria High School, another on the list, said that over the years it had "worked closely with transport companies and the transport police to ensure that our children enjoy a safe journey to and from school".

"If issues with individuals or groups of children occur the transport police contact us," a spokesperson said.

"However, until we received the generic letter last week they have not made us aware of the issues during the last year."

Head of School at Nunthorpe Academy in North Yorkshire, Kate Kell, said the institution had been contacted "on only two occasions in the last two years in relation to behaviours of a minority of students".

The school had then followed it up and worked with the local community to address the concerns.

Students were identified from images and the school's behaviour policy was implemented, a representative added.