Newport pupils' joy at £19,000 minibus grant (From South Wales Argus)

Newport pupils' joy at £19,000 minibus grant

9:30pm Monday 4th March 2013 in News

PUPILS from a Newport school are celebrating after receiving a new £19,000 minibus.

Around 65 students from St Julian’s School’s Learning Development Centre will benefit from the new bus after successfully winning a £19,000 grant from the Wolfson Foundation in London.

It will be used to transport youngsters, who have a range of learning difficulties such as autistic spectrum disorder, Aspergers, behavioural and emotional difficulties, to swimming lessons and other leisure and gardening activities as part of an extended curriculum.

The school was not in a position financially to replace its existing bus which is coming to the end of its lifespan, so it applied for the grant.

Money raised by the school’s parent and teacher association also contributed to the fund.

Business manager Mark Rowland said “The school is extremely grateful to the Wolfson Foundation for its very generous grant that will make a significant difference to the lives of students within our Learning Development Centre.

“The foundation’s generosity will enable us to continue to run a minibus in the current economic climate, which it would not otherwise have been able to do so.”