Last Friday students from Knole Academy were treated to travelling on a vintage Routemaster on their journey home, rather than the standard yellow and purple modern buses that they are used to on route 431 to Orpington. Children had the chance to experience travelling on the open platform bus alongside The Mayor of Sevenoaks Cllr Andrew Eyre, with Austin Blackburn (Managing Director of Go-coach ) acting as conductor. Throughout the journey The Mayor chatted to many of the children whom some of which had never seen a Routemaster before or a conductor on a bus.

Principle Mary Boyle and Vice Principle Paul Massey of Knole Academy, were seen chatting to students and the Mayor before waving them off on their journey. Go-coach supplied the bus free of charge and in return the students donated their standard fare and in some cases even more to Comic Relief. The total sum raised was £142.00 for this fantastic cause and everyone concerned had a lot of fun in the process. James Burgess a year 8 student said “The red nose event was a great experience for everyone! We had so much fun and enjoyed meeting the Mayor. I was glad to be part of this event and would defiantly do it again to raise money for such a good cause”

Submitted by Austin Blackburn