Students have until Friday to buy half-price train tickets for their school commute.

The offer is being made by Northern, the second-largest train operator in the UK.

The discount is available to students across the North of England through the Under 16 Education Season Ticket scheme, which aims to encourage children and their parents or guardians to switch their school commute from road to rail.

The tickets, which went on sale in August, are valid for the entire academic year on all routes.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: "As well as providing a significant saving on the cost of the school commute, U16 Education Season Tickets can be used at weekends and bank holidays too – not just the 195 days a year that schools are open.

"We have a long-running campaign to encourage people to convert from road to rail – and if we can get young people in the habit while they’re at school, we hope they will stick with it when they move into further education or the workplace."

For more information and details on how to buy a ticket, visit northernrailway.co.uk/tickets/educational-season.