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There was great excitement at Hope Valley School over the Christmas holiday, as members of the staff team collected their new minibus, thanks to the generosity of the Lambrook School Community!

Pupils will return from their long summer break (the school is located in South Africa!) next week to a brand new minibus, and the school community will be incredibly excited to know what an incredible difference this will make to their educational experience.

Up until this point, Hope Valley Farm School has not had this means of transport and has therefore been restricted in the educational experiences it can offer. Now the pupils will be able to go out on trips and visits and take part in sporting fixtures against other schools; teachers will be able to go on training courses and, most excitingly, the minibus will be able to collect children from the farm areas to save them walking miles and miles to school.

“Your incredible donation of our school bus is a pivotal milestone in the history of our school. The  school bus opens up an entirely new world of opportunities for our little farm school. These opportunities will allow the school to develop the sporting, cultural, academic and spiritual pillars that uphold our school. We are excited to share and create fun memories travelling, and enjoying the journey as much as the destination. My gratitude feels empty when put into words however, I am sure that as we share pictures of the joy and laughter from our learners over the coming weeks, their faces will be able say more than my words could.” Headmaster, Hope Valley Farm School

Hope Valley is a school situated on Buckshaw Brow Farm in Estonm Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa. Founded in 1972, the school aims to provide an excellent education for the children in the disadvantaged communities in the area, specifically for the children of farm labourers (sugar cane cutters) living in compounds near the school. Most of the farming families are illiterate and so, since the beginning, the children and their families have benefitted enormously from having such an education.

The fundraising journey for the minibus took place during the last academic year, with many different initiatives driving the project forward. One particular highlight was ‘The Great Minibus Wash’, where Year 8 pupils and Headmaster Jonathan Perry were sponsored to wash all of the Lambrook minibuses in a limited amount of time.

Pupils across the School were also invited to design a logo to go on the side of the minibus, with the winning design featuring on the purchased minibus! The design will be added to the minibus in the coming weeks.

We look forward to hearing more from the school next week and working with Hope Valley School on many more projects to come!