A SCHOOL is aiming to reduce its environmental impact by cutting down on the number of cars driven by parents.

Yarm School, in Yarm, has begun the new term by launching its own private bus service.

The school has worked closely with Stockton Borough Council and local private hire bus companies over the past year to plan a private bus operation for all of its pupils.

The aim is to reduce the number of cars driven by parents and to ease Yarm's traffic and parking problems.

The service, which was launched a few days ago, offers 13 different routes, which cover a wide area of the region.

They all pick up and unload directly outside the school in newly-installed bus stands.

Already, a third of pupils at the school have signed up to use the service.

Headteacher David Dunn said: "A great deal of planning has gone into this operation and we have been delighted with the response from both the school and local community.

"The council and the local police were of great assistance to us and I believe that, together, we have started something which is for the good of all concerned.

"The first week has certainly seen a reduction in congestion locally, with several hundred pupils already using this new service."