Crest Nicholson, in conjunction with its official charity partner Variety, has today donated an iconic Variety Sunshine Coach to Brimble Hill School in Blunsdon.
The Variety Sunshine Coach was delivered to Brimble Hill School on Wednesday 15th May and is the third coach that the school has received and will replace an 18-year-old minibus.
Brimble Hill School caters for children aged between 4 and 11 years with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. The coach will be used to transport children and staff to a wide variety of off-site activities including swimming, sailing and horse riding, as well as educational experiences designed to enrich and broaden their curriculum experiences.
Variety’s Sunshine Coaches have helped improve the lives of thousands of disabled or disadvantaged children across the UK. The coaches enable schools, like Brimble Hill School, to take children on educational and recreational days out, allowing children to explore places they would otherwise never have visited. Last year, Variety marked the donation of its 5,500th Sunshine Coach in the UK.
Alison Paul, Head Teacher at Brimble Hill School, commented: “The school needs to replace its 18-year-old minibus that has finally reached the end of its useful life. The new minibus will be used regularly to take the students to visit new and exciting places to enrich their experiences safely and reliably. It will be used weekly to take the children to swimming, sailing, horse riding and lots of class trips to various parks and places of learning and fun.
“This is the third Variety Sunshine Coach that has been donated to us over the years and we are extremely grateful to Variety each and every time. Without transport our pupils would not be able to experience the world around them and even the simplest of outings to the local shops has a great impact on our children’s understanding of everyday life. The basics, such as following a shopping list, counting out money and meeting and communicating with new people in the community is very important to our children’s education.”
Andrew Dobson, Managing Director at Crest Nicholson Strategic Projects, added: “It has been great today to meet the pupils and staff of Brimble Hill School. Seeing the positive impact of Variety’s work reaffirms our commitment to working with the charity and we look forward to building on the £1.4 million we’ve already donated to Variety since 2005.”
Danielle Roche, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Variety, said: “We are delighted to donate a new Sunshine Coach to Brimble Hill School, and we would like to thank Crest Nicholson 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.”
Variety is celebrating its 70th anniversary in the UK as a charity this year. In this time, it has helped more than one million disabled and disadvantaged children and their families.
Crest Nicholson has been working with the charity for 14 years and the Brimble Hill School’s new Sunshine Coach is the 33rd coach that has been donated by Crest Nicholson as part of its ongoing partnership.
Brimble Hill School is located at Tadpole Garden Village, a vibrant community that will comprise 1,855 homes on completion. Built with Crest Nicholson’s Garden Village Principles at heart, the development prioritises connection between residents and their surrounds and boasts over 62% open space.
