School must fundraise to replace stolen minibus

A school which caters for 280 autistic children has begun fundraising to replace a minibus which was stolen and destroyed.

The vehicle was one of 13 used by Freemantles School in Woking, Surrey.

After being stolen, it was later found completely burnt out.

The school said the insurance payout would not completely cover the cost of replacing it, so has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £15,745.

Executive head teacher Justin Price said the school's fleet of minibuses played a vital role in helping pupils interact with the world.

"We use them for community learning, which is a fundamental part of our curriculum," he told BBC Radio Surrey.

"They can struggle to generalise some of their learning, so if we learn about how to use money, we want to get them out into the community so they can do the same thing.

"The most recent Ofsted we had commented several times on the community learning. They felt that was what was making us outstanding."

The bus was stolen from the driveway of a member of staff just before Christmas, and found burnt out a few days later.

"It's a real struggle for us, because we're aiming to have all of the classes out at least twice a week, and sometimes more, because we want to prepare them properly for adult life," said Mr Price.

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