STUDENTS from a local primary school got a glimpse inside Tilehurst's iconic water tower, which has been supplying homes throughout the Reading area for more than eight decades.

About 90 students from Springfield Primary School, Tilehurst, were busy learning about their local history this week as they took a school trip over to the historic water tower on Monday, as part of their local environmental study.

Students were allowed to walk around the site, run by Thames Water, and peered inside the 40m high structure from the bottom of its 169 steps.

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Paul Hampton, the company’s education manager, said: “We were delighted to invite children from Springfield Primary to have a look around Tilehurst Water Tower.

"The school is in the shadow of the iconic tower and they were keen to learn about where their water came from and what the tower was for.

"As a company we’re keen to show people what we do on a daily basis and regularly hold events and visits with schools to inspire the next generation of employees and customers.”

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Janice Bolton, key stage one teacher at the school, added: “The children are doing an environment study and what better place to visit than Tilehurst Tower, an iconic building right on their doorstep?

“The children get so much from visiting a local landmark and learning about where their water comes from."

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Thames Water, who currently own and maintain the tower, are hoping to light up the iconic tower with red lighting in order to mark Remembrance day this November 11. It was originally lit up red in 2018, and the company want to do it again this year, due to the popularity of the stunt.

The Tilehurst water tower was originally constructed in 1932 and holds 900,000 litres of water, supplying an estimated 10per cent of the Reading area, serving 12,000 homes and businesses.