Don't miss the YEP school bus

....So get on board and pick up a bonus token today

by Ian Rosser

Education reporter

When youngsters at St Michael's CoE Primary attend school trips, then have
to don their coats and head for the nearest bus stop.

Even a visit to a local museum can be a logistical nightmare.

As a result, pupils at the school in Headingley, Leeds, often miss out on
extra-curricular activities which would enhance their learning.

It's a situation head teacher Mark Edwards would love to see resolved, and
he is urging parents to support St Michael's bid to win a new 26,000
minibus on offer as part of a YEP 34,000 giveaway.
"When we do hire private transport, the costs can be astronomical," he said.
"You are talking 200 just to go across Leeds. Quite often we don't go on
the trips that we would like to because we simply cannot afford to. If we
had a minibus, it would be a completely different story.
"It would also be very beneficial to our community, because we could rent it
out to local organisations when we were not using it."
Recently, children aged four and five spent a day at Meanwood Valley Farm.
To be able to attend, the youngsters had to walk the three miles each way.
Goodwill
When taking part in out-of-school events such as tag rugby competitions, the
school must rely on the goodwill of parents to ferry children around.
"The alternative to using private transport is obviously to use public
transport," said Mr Edwards. "Although the expense isn't so bad, it has its
own problems. For health and safety issues we need to have one adult for
every child.
"That means for just one class we would need 10 adults."
The 26,000 minibus has been donated by Safestyle UK, the largest
independent window and door company in Britain.
A further 8,000 of prizes are also up for grabs, including a DVD
role-playing recording kit worth 1,160, LCD televisions and 40 cash prizes.
Schools which collect the most tokens per pupil - which means small schools
have as much chance of winning as larger ones - will scoop the top prizes.
Tokens will be printed every day in the YEP for the next eight weeks.
ian.rosser@ypn.co.uk

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