AFTER 48 years driving school buses, Kay Roberts from Lewdown has been given the MBE for services to education. The news has thrilled Mrs Roberts who is ?on Cloud Nine? since being named in the Queen?s Birthday Honours List. But the 28 children she takes to school each day are equally delighted, showering her with cards and congratulations messages. ?I could not believe it,? said Mrs Roberts. ?I am just doing the job I have always loved ? I feel no different today than I did when I started driving buses. It?s the kids that keep me going, I love them to bits.? Mrs Roberts was offered a school transport contract at the age of 17 by her bus driver father Harry Bruce on condition she gave him £25 and passed her driving test. On February 17, 1958 she passed her test and the rest is history. Driving buses both for her family business ?Bruce and Roberts? and for other coach firms has always been a joy for the 65-year-old who intends to keep driving as long as the powers that be let her, and she is healthy. She added: ?I truly believe the kids at Milton Abbot School are the best in the west. I have been taking children to this school since 1968 and I have seen two generations. ?I never have any problems on the bus ? I have a lot of respect for the pupils and they do for me. ?We always have competitions at Christmas and Easter for designing cards or decorating Easter eggs and every child gets a present from me at Christmas. It gives me a lot of pleasure to see smiles on their faces.? The bus driver was nominated for the MBE by her sister and said her only regret was that her late father could not be here: ?He would have been so proud.? As for putting the letters MBE after her name, Mrs Roberts said she was not sure about doing that: ?I might put it on my cheque book though,? she added with a giggle. Headteacher of Milton Abbot Primary School Peter Jones said Mrs Roberts was much more than simply a bus driver. ?She is a major character in our local community, supporting not just our school, but a wide variety of charities and good causes in the area,? he said. ?The children love her and many people around here think she is very special. Kay doesn?t like fuss but she deserves this.?
