Variety of options with new minibus (From Barry And District News)

Variety of options with new minibus

A BARRY special needs school has taken delivery of a vital new minibus that will become a huge asset.

Ysgol Maes Dyfan has nearly 100 pupils who rely on a dependable mode of transport to take them to various activities. But their last Variety Coach was 15 years old and could not be trusted to take passengers far from the school.

But the supreme fundraising efforts of the staff and pupils managed to gather a fantastic £7,000 towards their new Sunshine Coach. And a substantial contribution from Barclaycard meant that the new 15-seater, which costs around £30,000, was delivered to the school.

Headteacher Mrs Iorylle Aubrey said: "We're delighted with this new coach. We cannot take our pupils very far unless we have a reliable mode of transport. And it could not have been better timed, because shortly we have to take two classes to West Wales. Without the bus, we could only have taken one class. We also take the students to other stimulating environments, like swimming and horse-riding. The support we get from the Variety Club is invaluable to us."

Barclaycard's Stephen Goodwin explained his company's generosity. He said: "We have a reward-point system for staff and customers, and we ask them if they would like to donate these points. In this way, we can make a difference to deserving causes."

Tony Harris from the Variety Club said: "We try to spread our funding as much as we can, so we ask each school how much they think they can put towards the cost of the coach. Then we have to try and make up the difference. We welcome the support from we have had from Barclaycard. They have helped make a lot of young people very happy."