Northern has written to the headteachers of 11 schools in an attempt to stop fare evasion by students.

Out of the 11 high schools and academies listed from the north of England, Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS) was the only one to be included from Cumbria.

Northern described the issue as 'persistent' and 'calculated', and said that it was time that headteachers worked in collaboration with them to finally solve the problem.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “With secondary school students, fare evasion incidents tend to occur on relatively short journeys between rural and suburban stations which are not barrier-controlled.

“That, combined with the limited time conductors have to carry out ticket checks, emboldens students to travel without a ticket.”

Besides UVHS, the schools Northern are hoping to work with are: 

  • 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

  • Wilmslow High School in Cheshire

The plea follows a catalogue of incidents since September 2023, including students travelling without tickets, ticket fraud and anti-social behaviour as well as verbal and physical assaults on conductors and station staff, said Northern.

Behaviour at some stations has been so bad that Northern has had to request support from British Transport Police to maintain order.

Mr Powles added: “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 headteachers to help us identify repeat offenders.”

Matthew Hardwick, the headteacher at UVHS, responded to Northern's plea by saying: “Over the years we have 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.

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