Used furniture saves Bristol school money to spend on kids

Clara Bullock & Cheryl DennisBBC News
News imageBBC Pupils watching furniture being unloadedBBC
Pupils cheered when their headteacher announced they would get new gym equipment

A school says the money it has saved by being donated used office furniture will be spent on gym equipment.

The charity Business 2 Schools saves office items going to landfill by giving it to schools on tight budgets.

Matthew Cave, headteacher at Four Acres Academy in Bristol, said: "From the amount of money we've saved from this delivery, we are going to get some gym equipment for the playgrounds.

"To get given this equipment is a great privilege."

"Instead of spending lots of money on furniture, we can use it for other stuff," a student at Four Acres Academy added.

News imageFour Acres Academy Bristol headteacher Matthew Cave smiles at the camera
"To get given this equipment is a great privilege," said headteacher Matthew Cave

Lindsay Parslow, CEO at Business 2 Schools, said: "Schools would only replace furniture if it was broken, so for us to say: here is some really nice, bouncy sofas and some lovely plants and all the other things that have been coming out of offices, is lovely.

"It has the opportunity to raise aspirations of those children," she added.

News imageBusiness 2 Schools A charity worker picking up used office chairs to bring to schoolBusiness 2 Schools
The charity said the furniture has the "opportunity to raise aspirations of children"

A company trying to get rid of their old furniture can pay the Business 2 Schools charity for removals, which costs less than normal charges.

The charity estimate that one tonne of reused furniture saves around three tonnes in carbon emissions.

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