Youngsters see the beauty of the Romany way of life - Wiltshire

A MINI Romany caravan at Wroughton Infant School has been lovingly refurbished and re-decorated by volunteers.

The caravan – known as a varda – has been in the playground for years, forming an unusual static attraction on which children can play, but it became rather run-down.

This year the school started a refurbishment programme, with caretaker Alan Collins re-felting the roof and parents sanding down the caravan and applying a new undercoat.

Then artist Debbie Hooper, who is the wife of the school’s chairman of governors, Dr Keith Hooper, spent 120 hours turning it into a work of art featuring ponies, fruit, trees and other objects.

Teacher Karon Brown said it was particularly nice to have the refurbished varda because some of the school’s pupils come from the Travellers’ site in the village.
She said: “I thought it was important because we have travelling children at the school and it’s part of their heritage. And it would be nice for the other children in the school to understand that as well.

“That’s their way of life, not so much these days but their parents and grandparents would have lived in vardas.”