Text 1: The footbridge that gets pupils safely to school, by Mariam Shah

An original contemporary newspaper feature.

Each morning, children from the east side of Brookfield walk across the new footbridge on their way to school. It crosses the busy Mill Lane road, so pupils no longer have to wait at the kerb while cars and delivery vans pass.

The bridge is wide enough for adults to walk beside younger children. Parent Joel Martin says that his daughter can now walk with two friends instead of being driven the short distance to school. ‘I still walk with her sometimes, but I do not have to worry about the traffic,’ he says.

Teachers report that pupils arrive more reliably because they do not lose several minutes waiting to cross the road. The bridge has also made the morning journey calmer for families who used to queue in cars outside the school.

Text 2: A bridge for the school children

An original newspaper report written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.

This report about a new footbridge near a village school appeared in a local newspaper in 1890.

A wooden footbridge has been opened across the stream below Brookfield village school. Until its construction, the children crossed by a line of stepping stones, which became slippery after rain and could not be used when the water rose.

Several mothers had accompanied their younger children to the stream, fearing that they might fall. The new bridge has a firm handrail, and pupils may now cross together without waiting for the water to subside.

The schoolmaster states that the children reach their lessons more punctually than before. He considers the bridge a great convenience to families living on the far side of the stream.

Explain briefly how the footbridges helped pupils and their families. Refer to both texts in your answer.

You may consider safety, younger children, family convenience and punctuality.