CHILDREN at Maes Ebbw School received a £40,000 minibus yesterday after two years of fundraising and a generous donation.

A 17-seat sunshine coach has been generously donated by DPD, helped by Variety, the Children's Charity, bringing the sponsors together with the school and Morgan Sindall giving £1,000 towards the bus.

However, the school themselves raised £16,000 in two years by running many raffles and community events.

There are around 150 children at the school and 120 staff, 90 of which work with the children.

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Nicola Allan, head teacher at Maes Ebbw School, said: “This minibus will provide many opportunities for the children. They need a specialised vehicle to arrange day trips outside of the school and gain social skills by interacting with other people.”

The minibus can fit around three to four wheelchairs, and seats can come off depending on who is travelling on the bus. Everything has been specially adapted, there are clamps to stop the wheelchairs from moving about and a bus tail-lift.

Staff at the school are delighted to finally have a reliable minibus, as past trips have resulted in them breaking down or the bus not starting at all.

Dave King, head of programmes at Variety, said: “Variety is delighted to bring together our sponsors to donate this coach. It means the children can travel safely for fun trips.”