Member Article

New Bus-Library for Wirral Pupils

Children at Egremont Primary School are enjoying a library with a difference after Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire joined forces with the school to transform an old bus into a magical library space.

The school on Church Road approached Stagecoach for help to create a new library space in school, to re-engage their learners in books and reinvigorate a love of reading. So, the bus company stepped in and offered the use of one of their older buses, which their team of specialist engineers gutted and prepared to make it safe for children to use.

The Stagecoach team also worked with the team to refit the bus interior – creating a fantastic, comfy space for children to enjoy.

The innovative bus-library is stationed in the school playground and will be used by all year groups at the school.

The bus’s colourful design was created by three children at Egremont School, whose individual pictures were combined to make up the bus’s vibrant exterior.

The bus-library was painted by Billy Chapman, a specialist bus painter based at Stagecoach’s Gillmoss depot. He said: “This was a bit of a departure from the usual day job for me, but it was definitely a lot of fun! The children’s creativity definitely shines through and it’s great that they have put their stamp on the bus - it was so important to us that the final product resembled the children’s original visions. The school held a design competition for the new bus-library but there was so much enthusiasm from the children that we ended up picking three designs instead of just one!”

Kate Wilson, Deputy Head Teacher at Egremont Primary School, said: “We are all absolutely over-the-moon with our new bus-library! When we originally approached the company for help with fundraising, we never dreamed that the Stagecoach team would go to such amazing lengths to donate and transform one of their old buses into such a wonderful and creative learning resource. The Stagecoach team has been fantastic. The children have all really enjoyed being a part of the project and are thrilled with the new bus-library!”

Tony Cockcroft, Engineering Director at Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, said: “We’re thrilled to have delivered this creative and inspiring learning environment for the children at Egremont Primary School. A huge proportion of our passengers are children and we’re so pleased to be able to give something back to our local community on the Wirral.

“Learning should take place in a fun and exciting and we really hope that this bus-library will continue to inspire generations at Egremont Primary School for years to come.”

Follow the company online at stagecoachbus.com or on Twitter at @StagecoachMCSL for more information and company updates.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Violet Brown .