Unsung heroes
Sir,
I would like to put in writing how grateful we are to Mrs Phyllis Picken and the group of volunteers responsible for providing the Kilmory minibus service, as unsung local heroes.
Phyllis and her team, through the Kilmory minibus, provide an important service that means the pupils have access to educational activities and experiences to a greater extent on the island as well as on the mainland.
Pre-pandemic, Kilmory Primary School used the minibus to access a variety of educational cluster events eg: sports events, Isle of Arran Music Festival, Day of Dance etc.
We are all looking forward to the academic year 2022-23, when hopefully, these events will be held again and primary school children can meet up with their peers from across the island.
This is extremely important for children in the more remote schools – Kilmory and Pirnmill – who may have only one child in their year group.
The biggest contribution that the Kilmory minibus provides to the schools is transporting children from four of the schools to their annual block of swimming lessons.
Living on an island, we place great importance on all children being given the opportunity to learn to swim.
Kilmory, Pirnmill and Shiskine schools use the Kilmory minibus to attend their lessons in the Kinloch Hotel in Blackwaterfoot. Corrie Primary School use the minibus to attend their lessons in the Auchrannie Resort in Brodick.
The competitive pricing is very much appreciated.
The four schools who use the minibus to access swimming lessons are small schools.
Due to the pandemic, fundraising has been extremely limited. However, the reliability of the service and the friendliness of the volunteer drivers is what makes the Kilmory minibus service outstanding.