Students Help ‘bling’ Bus for Charity

A group of motor vehicle students and their tutor from the South Leeds Centre have been part of a team working against the clock to help ‘bling’ a bus for a local children’s charity.

Tutor Mike Stewart and the students from pulled on their overalls on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July to help prepare the minibus for its extraordinary makeover as part of a challenge set by RSA Accident Repairs to support RSA’s 300th birthday celebrations.

They joined employees of RSA Accident Repairs in Holbeck, Leeds, to panel-beat and paint the vehicle to get it in top shape ready for its makeover. The team was led by Leeds City College motor vehicle apprentice George Reid, who was recently awarded the Brompton trophy for Apprentice of the Year.

The minibus will now be taken to another RSA Accident Repairs in Birmingham for the finishing touches, which will include a bespoke graphic design based on seaside postcards, plus an array of ‘bling’ features including a twin screen TV, DVD player, Sat Nav and sound system.

The finished bus complete with Tax, MOT and a year’s free insurance from RSA will be handed over to a Leeds Children’s Charity who will use it to take underprivileged children on respite holidays to the charity’s holiday centre in Silverdale, Cumbria.

The bus will replace the charity’s current, smaller bus and will mean 50 more children every year will be able to visit the holiday centre, bringing the total number of children benefitting from the charity’s holidays to 350 every year.

Zoë Preston from RSA Accident Repair Centres said: “The RSA 300th Birthday Charity Challenge was something that we felt we could use to demonstrate our technical expertise, team philosophy and provide a lasting legacy for one of Leeds’ local charities. The involvement of the apprentices from Leeds City College displays our ongoing positive relationship and desire to develop the skills required within the repair industry.

This also offers the apprentices the opportunity to experience work within a vehicle repair centre. We were overwhelmed by the support of both our own technicians and staff of Leeds City College.

Press Contact
Zoe Ward
Marketing Assistant
Leeds City College
t: 0113 284 6223
e: Zoe.Ward@leedscitycollege.ac.uk