Meet the railway children .. (From Warrington Guardian)

Meet the railway children ..

THE MAJORITY of children on the train were well behaved. But a small bunch on the Chester to Manchester line made the journey unbearable for older passengers and other school pupils.This week the Knutsford Guardian experienced a journey with youngsters who seemed to show little respect either for others or each other

YEARS ago a train station guard would have at least been respected by almost every schoolchild.

But that was not the case last week when a long-haired boy barged past a little man at Knutsford Train Station.

He flashed his rail pass at the guard and then accidentally knocked him with his rucksack.

There was no apology and the student seemed to care little.

There was just an arrogance that you felt should have been knocked out of him by his parents.

The station guard, who later boarded the train with the 30 or so Knutsford High School students, seemed almost resigned to his fate.

Welcome to the 15.37 to Manchester.

Psychologist Dr David Holmes was not surprised when the Knutsford Guardian described the scene at the train station.

He believes children's behaviour is generally becoming worse because of the breakdown of the family.

Dr Holmes said being in a group on a train simply amplified youngsters' disregard for rules or discipline.

"It brings out more confidence in some individuals and disinhibits the rowdier ones quite a lot," he said.

"They're all trying to establish themselves. They're trying to establish a pecking order. It can verge on the very dangerous."

Dr Holmes believes children are gradually becoming more disruptive because they now encounter less discipline.

He said this was caused mainly in single-parent families or families with two working parents who felt guilty about their child's upbringing.

"Many kids now are spoilt in a new way because it's almost universal in their lives," he said.

"Those parents tend to do the wrong thing because they tend not to discipline their child because of feelings of guilt."

The Mid-Cheshire Community Rail Partnership has worked to combat issues of anti-social behaviour on the Manchester to Chester trains.

But the group recently said Knutsford Train Station was more affected by anti-social behaviour than any stop between the cities.

First North Western, which looks after the platform and trains, now teaches its staff to deal with children who misbehave.

"We aim to convey our customers in a friendly and safe environment and we expect all our passengers, whatever their age, to behave responsibly," said a spokesman.

Knutsford High School emphasises in its prospectus the need for sensible and responsible behaviour.

Yestersday Stephen Cunliffe, deputy head teacher, said Knutsford High School had received complaints from students about a small minority of children misbehaving on trains.

He said parents had been informed about their concerns and teachers liased with rail bosses about the problems.

The school also encourages students to travel on buses and teaches pupils about behaviour through a citizenship education programmes.

Mr Cunliffe said he wanted people to recognise the children who behaved well outside school. "We have recently had phone calls and letters of thanks from members of the public who have been helped by students," he said. "Someone found, traced and returned a lost mobile phone; others found a lost wallet and handed it in to be returned."

Teachers also worked with First North Western to improve behaviour by giving pupils season tickets, which could be revoked if they misbehaved.

"We are also combating fare dodging among schoolchildren by offering an educational season ticket," said First North Western.

However, on Thursday the good work of many officials was put to the test.

It was like being on a train with a bunch of hyenas. Only not as well behaved.

Admittedly, it was not all of them. Of the 30, nine were particularly poorly behaved.

Most of them later got off the train at Hale, a village known for its exclusive bars, restaurants and £1million properties.

The upmarket village is also home to Premiership footballers such as Manchester United's Roy Keane.

Most of the other children on the train had chatted quietly, one girl occasionally sucking her thumb.

But the nine made sure it was impossible to hear yourself think - let alone speak.

Only there was no way of turning down the volume.

Their rather inane conversation was peppered with obscenities.

But their shouting, though irritating, was not threatening. Their abuse was merely confined to one another.

One girl thought it was funny to make fun of a friend with shockingly ginger hair.

They all laughed but you knew from experience that her words would hurt him even if he did not show it. The thing they seemed to lack, though, was respect - for themselves, for adults and for each other.

On Monday Dr Holmes said teachers were also currently unable to instil any discipline into children's lives.

"It's a lot to do with the fact that schools have got their hands tied behind their backs," he said.

"When parents and teachers can't discipline a child it becomes the playground bully who is in charge."

On Thursday, there was unease on the train to Manchester.

It was written all over the face of one older woman, who had been waiting for the train on the platform at Knutsford with the groups of students.

As a businesswoman walked on to the platform, she seemed pleasantly pleased that there would be at least one other older person travelling on the train with her.

For although they were not threatening, you would not really want your mum to be travelling alone.

As the train pulled into Hale, most of them got off, scrambling over the seats, muddy footprints left where others would soon be sitting.

A group of Asian schoolboys then boarded the train.

They chatted quietly about their favourite teachers.

One boy's face was a picture as he raved about a woman teacher at Altrincham Grammar School.

"She always smiles when she comes in and it makes your day," he said.

The journey had been an education. As an observer, I was left with little more than a headache.