Chingford Features

Old London bus turned into Chingford school library

An old London bus has found a new lease of life in Chingford
By Victoria Munro

Students Ava and Finn on the new learning bus
Students Ava and Finn on the new learning bus

A former London bus has a new life as a library at a Chingford primary school.

Parkside Primary School in Wellington Avenue opened the new library bus this academic year after noticing “gaps” in students’ reading.

The revamped bus had its wheels removed and shelves for the books fitted, while new non-slip flooring was donated free of charge by retailer Flooring Superstore.


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Parkside Primary School Head of Reading Lara Batley said: “We had noticed some gaps in our children’s reading and so we set out to instil a new love of reading.

“The bus caught the children’s attention as soon as it arrived, and they waited excitedly for us to do the work internally so they could start using it… they love it.”

The school was last inspected by Ofsted in 2017 and given the second-highest “good” rating.

Inspectors noted students are “polite, well behaved and love learning” and that the Parkside motto ‘Proud to Shine’ “runs through every aspect of [the] school”.


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