Lawnswood Campus, home to Braybrook, Orchard, Midpoint and Nightingale PRUs, made a bid to the children's charity Variety for the coach – and recently took delivery of the vehicle which will provide vital transport for its students.
It will be the third Sunshine Coach at Lawnswood Campus, providing an everyday transport link and taking pupils on educational and recreational days out, including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and National Trust visits.
Jo Wood, Executive Headteacher at Lawnswood Campus, said: "We are very grateful to Variety for the donation of a Sunshine Coach which will help provide a vital transport link for some of the most vulnerable students within our centres.
"This will enable students to engage in more outdoor educational projects such as the John Muir environmental award scheme and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and provide access to a wider range of academic and vocational qualifications."
Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: "The donation of this Variety Sunshine Coach by The Bingo Association is great news for our Pupil Referral Units and the children and young people they support."
Variety improves the lives of children and young people throughout the UK who are sick, disabled or disadvantaged. It provides coaches and bespoke wheelchairs, specialist, sensory and recreational equipment for use in the home, school, children’s hospitals and youth centres and creates memorable experiences through “Variety Great Days Out”.
Variety’s Sunshine Coaches have helped improve the lives of thousands of disabled or disadvantaged children across the UK. Charlotte Walker, Variety Midlands Regional Fundraising Manager, said: “We are delighted to donate a Sunshine Coach to The Lawnswood Campus, and would like to thank the Bingo Association for their huge generosity in making this a reality.
“These coaches help to improve the lives of disabled and disadvantaged children and young people, ensuring they get the most out of school life by accessing learning and recreational facilities outside of the school environment.
“The support of The Bingo Association’s members and customers has directly funded the donation of 28 Sunshine Coaches in the past 4 years, making a real and tangible difference to thousands of disadvantaged and disabled children around the UK.”
Miles Baron, Chief Executive of The Bingo Association, added: “Customers from more than 340 bingo clubs across the UK have made this very worthy donation of a Sunshine Coach possible.
“We have now raised over £1.3 million for Variety in the past 4 years – a truly incredible amount – and it is brilliant to see that this has such a fantastic, direct impact on improving the lives of thousands of sick and disadvantaged children around the UK.”
For more information, please visit Variety - the children’s charity. https://www.variety.org.uk/ www.variety.org.uk.
Pupil Referral Units support pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties who have either been excluded from a mainstream school or who are at significant risk of permanent exclusion.
Braybrook, Orchard and Midpoint PRUs have all been inspected by Ofsted in the last 12 months, and all were found to be Good.
Image: Orchard Centre pupils Kaydee-Leigh Evans, Mekenzie Taylor, Ashllene Bagano and Jacob Poulton-Jones celebrate the arrival of the new Variety Sunshine Coach at Lawnswood Campus with Head of The Midpoint Centre Bob Callaghan, Head of The Orchard Centre Julie Blake, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, Head of The Braybrook Centre Stuart Playford
