Using this article, pupils at KS2 could develop skills in chronology and evidence by building a transport timeline. They could start with human and then animal drawn modes of transport and end with the space shuttle. Some discussions could be generated when pupils are asked to consider why trams “reappear” on the timeline while other modes of transport (eg steam locomotives) effectively die out. For pupils at KS3-4, trams could be an interesting hook for a study on the lives of ordinary people in the 20th-century. The hygiene element of tram seating offers an angle for enquiry. Pupils could be asked to come up with a more defined “who would be allowed to ride” policy with reasons. Extra dimensions such as wartime could be introduced. Would a conductor who throws off a filthy miner in 1910 do the same to a miner supporting the war effort in 1916?

Ben Walsh