Dewsbury Bus Museum

The West Riding Omnibus Museum Trust

School visits

Several local schools have recently invited us to bring a bus and show the children what public transport was like before they were born. If you are a teacher and think we may be able to help bring one of your lessons to life, this may just interest you.

We can bring a bus into your school grounds (subject to availability) and give the children a tour of the vehicle, both inside and out, with a short talk about the bus and its history. We have produced "hand-out" sheets which the children can complete in class afterwards, with a few simple questions about the bus, a picture for them to colour in and some basic facts about life in the days when the bus was new.

More information, including downloadable children's "handouts" is at the bottom of this page. 

School bldg
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HEALEY INFANTS

We took our 1950 Albion Valiant to this school in November 2010.

Museum volunteer Andrew Beever shows the children round the bus while the teachers take turns at playing in the driving seat!

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GRANGE MOOR PRIMARY

We took "Ethel", our 1952 Leyland Tiger, along in spring term 2010. The Reception children helped make the huge wall display afterwards, each child drawing a picture of the bus and cutting it out.

Years 5/6 teacher Miss Allen is pictured trying out the driving cab.

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school bus
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ST JOHN'S INFANTS

(Dewsbury Moor)

Class teachers Miss Roberts and Mr Hamlet seemed to be having more fun than the children when we visited in September 2010.

school traffic sign

DOWNLOAD THE WORKSHEETS.  We have prepared two worksheets, one for each of the above buses. They can be downloaded as a PDF file and saved to your school's computer. Both sheets can be printed out - they contain two pages which should be printed back-to-back. If we are visiting you, we will let you know which bus we are bringing along. (Click the PDF buttons to download).

  The green single-decker (1.07mb)   The blue double-decker (125 kb)

pdf
pdf

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

1.  How much will it cost?
No charge is made for visits, but as a charity in these days of high diesel fuel prices, we are unable to travel long distances from our base.

2. When can the visit be arranged?
It is easier to arrange morning visits. Typically we can arrive at a school around 10.00 am and stay as long as you need us. Please give as much notice as you can, because our volunteers may have to arrange time off from their full-time jobs to visit you.

3. Can we go for a ride?
If your school grounds are big enough we can drive around inside. We are only insured to carry passengers on the road at special transport-related events. This will also save you the job of risk assessing the lesson and seeking parental consent to take children out of school premises. (It is possible to ride the buses at some of our own events - see the EVENTS page).

4. Who will be bringing the bus?
At least two museum volunteers will be present. The volunteer who conducts the lesson will be CRB checked, and will bring their CRB certificate for you to examine or photocopy. All volunteers will wear identity badges.

5. How long will it take?
Normally each group will spend about 15-20 minutes learning about the bus. It is easier with groups of less than 30 children.

6.  What age group would benefit?
Our talk is geared towards years 1, 2 and 3. However, Reception children and those up to year 6 should enjoy themselves. It is probably not very beneficial to children in year 7 and above.

7. Photography
Schools are more than welcome to photograph the buses. We may ask for permission to photograph staff members for our website or newsletter (as shown above), but will not take photographs in which individual children can be identified, unless a parent or guardian is present to give permission.

To arrange a visit, please contact the Hon Secretary, Tony Salmon, on 0844 504 0085 or e-mail admin@dewsburybusmuseum.co.uk