First Bus donated to the children at St. Michael’s Junior Church School for play use utterly destroyed by vandals over the bank holiday weekend. Headteacher – Claire Greene tells us more.

St Michael’s Junior Church School secured a bus from First Bus to use as a piece of play equipment for the children. The bus is a decommissioned bus from First Bus and has been kitted out with seating and storage areas for the children to read, finger knit, play with lego or play pretend. The school got the idea from St Saviours Junior Church School in Bath after a visit.

Unfortunately, the bus was destroyed by vandals over the bank holiday weekend. All the windows, bar the front and back windscreen, were smashed in. This happened previously in December 2020 and the school held a fundraiser to repair all the damage. The damage done over the bank holiday weekend is a danger to the children due to the broken glass and the school has had to throw away the damaged items.

This means the children can’t use that section of the field for play so the school has had to rearrange where the children could play so they can get some outside space. Naturally, the children were very upset, as were the staff. The school are trying to give the children good opportunities and find that play is good for their mental health which has now been impacted due to others’ selfish actions.

Luckily, the vandals weren’t able to get inside the bus this time due to increased security. The school has restarted their gofundme page and have had offers from people to come and refit the windows. The school will also be adding perspex over the windows to add an extra layer of protection.

If you see any trespassers on the St Michael’s Junior Church School property, alert the authorities.

Words by Lauren Forester