There were bright smiles all round this week at Bramingham Primary School in Luton. This is because the school received a Variety Sunshine Coach sponsored by the Stonegate Pub Company.

The keys to the bus, which is specially adapted to accommodate wheelchairs, were handed to Bramingham’s head teacher, Sharon Flowers, by Stonegate Pub Company’s CEO, Toby Smith in a presentation at the school.

Bramingham is a mainstream primary school with resourced provision for children with physical and medical needs. All children are included in the school community and the school ensures that all children have opportunities to access as many learning experiences as possible. The school caters for over 400 children between the ages of 4 and 11 and has a high number of children with additional needs (24% of the school population).

The Variety Sunshine Coach will be used to access curriculum trips, residential trips, weekly horse riding for children with physical and medical disabilities and swimming. The coach will also be used to enable equal access to a variety of sporting events

The Variety Sunshine Coach is the first of five coaches to be presented to schools and community groups around the UK as a result of funds raised through Britain’s Biggest Pub Tour (BBPT) for Variety, the Children’s Charity.

The tour which has travelled 5,555 miles, visited 614 pubs and taken 124 days as it reaches its final destination, The Slug and Lettuce in Tower Bridge next Friday 26th September.

The fundraising target for Britain’s Biggest Pub Tour was originally £100,000. It surpassed this in just six weeks; and this week has broken the £250,000 barrier. Throughout BBPT a giant ‘Pledge Passport’ has been passed from pub to pub. At each stop along the way, the pubs and their customers were challenged to host a momentous fundraising event and devise a quirky and unique way to transport the Pledge Passport onto its next destination. From waterskiing in Blackpool to hare and tortoise racing in Lincoln, the BBPT Passport has literally been carried using hundreds of different methods.

Toby Smith, Stonegate Pub Company’s CEO said:

“We are delighted to be able to provide a Variety Sunshine Coach to Bramingham Primary School. We are a national pub company, based here in Luton, so we are particularly thrilled to be able to help a school in our hometown. Britain’s Biggest Pub Tour has been a phenomenal success, capturing the imagination of our 12,000 employees and their customers along the way. It has brought communities together, created lots of fun and laughter and has involved the young and old. I am hugely proud of their achievements.”