Nursery & Reception children from St Bernadette’s RC Primary School in Stockport were visited by a real-life ‘Naughty Bus earlier this week thanks to Bryan Steele, a bus driver for Stagecoach Manchester, whose daughter is in Foundation Stage 1.
When Bryan found out his daughter Charlotte and her classmates were reading “The Naughty Bus” by Jan Oke, he wanted to surprise the children and help bring the story to life.
He said: “When I heard that Charlotte was reading “The Naughty Bus” at school, I had an idea to bring my bus into school to help bring the story to life for the kids. The school were really excited by the idea and my managers were happy to make it happen.
“It was amazing to see Charlotte and her friends so excited to explore the bus. It definitely made a change from my usual bus routes around Stockport!”
Mrs Howard, FS2 teacher at St Bernadette’s RC Primary School said: “The St. Bernadette’s children and staff would like to say a huge thank you to the Stagecoach team for our very exciting visit from the ‘Naughty Bus’.
“The children loved sitting in the driver’s seat, going on the top deck and listening to the story on the bus. We had a fantastic morning and the children have not stopped talking about it! I hope the Naughty Bus has not been up to too much mischief in and around Stockport since. We will be sure to look out for him!”
Operations director of Stagecoach Manchester, Matt Kitchin, said: “It was extremely heart-warming to see the children experiencing bus travel first-hand and having the story of ‘The Naughty Bus’ brought to life for them. Teaching the next generation about the importance of public transport and helping them to gain the confidence to catch a bus in the not too distant future was both our honour and our pleasure.
“I want to personally thank Bryan for his efforts in organising this special visit for his daughter and her classmates and inspiring the next generation of bus drivers.”
