WDSME Online

WDSME has always prided itself on its junior membership. Over the years our younger members have formed an important part of the society and give the club, and the hobby, a good foundation for the future.

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At the present time we have 9 under 18s who are split into two sections; 6-13 and 13-18.  The younger ones require constant supervision from parents/guardians where as the older age group can be more independent.                

It can be daunting when the young people want to join a society like ours as we want to keep them entertained and maintain their interest in the hobby whilst also ensuring their safety on site. Additionally there are child protocols to be adhered to. WDSME takes welfare of our junior membership seriously; we follow government guidelines passed onto us by the Southern Federation and have our own set of rules for all members to follow whilst on site.

 

Our juniors play a key role in club activities and regularly attend meetings. They support our older members on running days, lending a hand wherever possible, by carrying out tasks such as collecting coal, filling water and performing basic shunting duties. They are able to learn the operations in the signal box too. We regularly hold members days throughout the year which gives them an opportunity to learn driving and signalling skills under the watchful eye of our more experienced members without the worry of visitors public.

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As a society we have always received a lot of positive feedback about our junior membership as people see them getting involved in all aspects of the club and it is always wonderful to see the juniors with a genuine interest in model engineering and wanting to gain experience whilst learning new skills.  Our older members are keen to pass on their knowledge and engineering expertise which creates a strong bond between all the generations in our society.  There are not many places where young people can mix with the older generation in a social environment and WDSME feels proud that we can encourage this. Long may it continue.