PUPILS at Rodbourne Cheney Primary will be travelling around the town in style thanks to the hard work and dedication from parents who raised £8,000 for a new minibus.

As the new term started this week, youngsters walked through the school gates to find the new arrival taking pride of place in the playground after the Parent Teacher Association raised the funds through a series of fundraisers over the last 12 months.

The team of parents decided to set themselves the challenge of buying the bus as the school is home to a number of sporting pupils and aspiring dancers - all of whom represent Rodbourne Cheney at competitions, meaning staff often have to rely on other schools to lend them transport or book a coach.

The PTA kicked off their fundraising mission with Rodfest in September where crowds gathered on the school field to enjoy a day of live music and a barbecue - raising £2,000.

As well as holding more events in the following months, the Mid Counties Co-operative also donated £2,000, bringing the group to their £8,000 just in time for the start of the summer holidays.

PTA secretary Rebecca Wright said: “We held a number of events throughout the year, which were well supported by pupils, parents, extended family and friends plus staff and local business, like Farmfoods, Purple Orchid and Simply Bliss.”

Rodbourne Cheney Primary School principal Lisa Davies added: “We are so excited to finally have a minibus, I can’t thank the PTA enough for their hard work and determination, as well as the local community for supporting all of the fundraising efforts. It has been such an aspiration for us to have a minibus for a very long time and we no longer have the worry of having to borrow one from another school, meaning we can plan more exciting trips and outings for the children.

“It is really exciting for the children and what is good is that it was a community effort. The parents have got behind us and they will see the benefit of having a minibus of our own.

“It is the little things that add up. We are a small school so it is amazing that we’ve been able to raise £8,000.

“People talk about community schools but here at Rodbourne Cheney is what I think is a real community school with the best community spirit.”

Now the PTA has plans to hold even more fundraisers in the next academic year as well as a repeat of their highly-successful Rodfest to raise funds for a different project that has yet to be decided.