A school bus has been developed, painted and turned into a non-fiction library and now sits proud in an Abbots Langley school’s grounds.
Roger Billing, Abbots Langley Primary School’s new head teacher, said he wanted to "set the tone" in his new position and came up with the innovative idea after he was inspired by a similar project at his previous school.
Mr Billing took up the post in September 2012 and by November he had already acquired the old bus from the online retail website, eBay.
He said: "We have a nice library in the centre of our school but it’s really packed. My last school had a double decker bus library and when I came across our single decker one on eBay I thought it was meant to be."
Work started on the bus last winter and after a short hiatus due to bad weather, the library bus has been completed and was unveiled to the children on Tuesday.
Mr Billing said: "I think it is a really good addition to the school because it can be a source of fundraising, of course all the children will benefit from it and it really has the wow factor. The ALSA (Abbots Langley School Association) have taken it on as their main fundraiser for the year."
Parents and teachers who were keen to get involved or those with a background in building work helped out and offered their services to the school during the last few months.
The school held a competition to encourage the students to come up with a design for the outside of the bus. A pupil from Year 3 won the competition and he was able to see the Graffiti Kings, hired by the school, turn his creation into a reality.
The decking outside the school bus was put in at the weekend by "six or seven of the dads". In total the work took the team eight hours to complete and some members of staff were in attendance to raise morale with homemade cakes.
Yesterday, to celebrate the first day of the new school term, the Abbots Langley students were invited to explore their new library after their head teacher cut the ribbon on the bus in an official unveiling.
Mr Billing said: "It was just amazing. The children all seemed to really enjoy it and we hope they will get so much out of it."
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