Airline library lands at school

A JET airliner is turning heads and has become a social media hit, after it landed at a school in Alveston.

The front section of a BaE 146 was lowered by crane into the grounds at St Helen’s Primary School, ready to be converted into a library.

Now it will undergo six months of refurbishment, and become a symbol of the school’s vision statement for its pupils, which is 'Flying High’. The plane was built at Filton in the early 1980s and was due to be scrapped – but has been donated by GKN Aerospace.

Apprentices at Filton have been repairing the fuselage free as part of a work project, and have painted the words ‘Flying High at St Helen’s' on the outside.

The village has a strong link with aviation, as the aerospace designer Captain Frank Barnwell lived at what later became the Alveston House Hotel, and is buried in the graveyard of St Helen’s church.

The Voice first reported on the plan in 2020 - since then the idea has been cleared for take-off by planners, and South Gloucestershire Council has contributed an £11,500 grant towards the costs of kitting it out.

Additional fund raising of £10,000 will pay for electricity supply, furniture and books.

In future, staff and pupils will use the library during the day, and families will be able to take books out after school hours, making it a community facility.

Head of School Kelvin Chappell told parents in a newsletter that it was an exciting time for the school.

He said: “It has been a phenomenal effort from so many people to enable us to edge ever closer to the library being open.

"It has been a very long time coming, but the fact that we can physically see the plane on site means that there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ and we are nearly there!”

The plane library has been a surprise Social Media hit – one teacher who Tweeted a photo of the plane at the school had 1.7 million views.

Mr Chappell said: “This is amazing to think about how many people are seeing the great effort that has been put in place to get this going and, although it gathered a lot of media attention we cannot but remember that the purpose of this plane is to expose children to the magic and love of books!

“Reading really is the most magical thing that we can do- and no matter how tricky we can find reading, we want all children to all be able to read something for their own ability.

“Hopefully the library plane will inspire children to pick up something that interests them – magazines, comics, non-fiction, fiction - it really doesn’t matter, just love reading!”

GKN Aerospace, based at Filton, said: “It's an honour to support St Helen's Alveston primary school on their important school project, Flying Home.

"After 18 months of work at GKN Aerospace the library plane is now in place and will be used to stimulate the love of reading among children."

A jobs fair is being held to showcase full and part-time opportunities on offer at a new stroke rehabilitation unit at South Bristol Community Hospital opening soon.

Across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, health, care and voluntary sector partners are working together to improve services for people affected by stroke.

This includes work to improve the prevention of stroke, as well as to provide the best possible stroke emergency care, rehabilitation and care at home once individuals are discharged from hospital.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the UK, and one of the largest causes of disability. Working with other healthcare partners, the aim is to ensure local people have the best opportunity to survive and thrive after stroke.

As part of this work, Sirona care & health is recruiting to a number of new positions for a dedicated rehabilitation unit, otherwise known as a Sub-Acute Stroke Rehab Unit (SSARU).

The unit will meet the needs of people who are unable to return home immediately after a hospital