Angela was delighted to climb aboard the new addition to the playground at St Stephen’s RC Primary School in Droylsden.

Brendan Marley, headteacher at the Chappell Road school, invited Angela to join pupils on the Big Yellow Bus to declare it officially open.

The school acquired the bus during lockdown and the pupils of key workers who continued to go in for lessons when the school was closed got busy decorating it inside with paintings of their favourite literary characters for when their classmates returned.

The bus will be used for the National Tutoring Project to help pupils catch up with work they have missed on two days a week and as a library on the remaining three days.

Angela said: “It was absolutely fantastic to visit the Big Yellow Bus and see how hard the children have worked to transform it into a reading space they can all enjoy. Children have missed out on so much over the past year, so it was wonderful to see their enthusiasm for this project. I hope the pupils at St Stephen’s continue to enjoy this excellent addition to the playground for many years to come.”

Headteacher Brendan Marley added: “We were delighted to welcome Angela to the school to officially open our Reading Bus. The children were so excited, especially when Angela read them a story and they loved hearing about her life in Parliament.”