Joe’s Busy Bus - A new school session taking kids back in time 

To kickstart an exciting new year of sessions for schools, children of Soho Primary School have become time-travelling detectives at one of our new onsite sessions, Joe’s Busy Bus! 

In collaboration with Spectrum Drama, this new event allows Key Stage 1 (KS1) pupils to embark on a mission back in time to the 1910s with an actor playing Joe Clough, London’s first Black bus driver. Piecing together clues left by passengers on his bus, children get up close and personal with the Museum’s collection, discovering the vast array of jobs that make up Transport for London, and more importantly the individuals that took them on.  

But who exactly is Joe Clough and why is it so important that we learn about him? 

Born in Jamaica in 1887, Joe moved to Britain in 1906 and joined the London General Omnibus Company in 1910, becoming one of the first drivers to drive the new motor buses. He made history being London’s first Black bus driver and became a much-loved local celebrity in Bedford, where he lived out the rest of his days. 

Throughout our Joe’s Busy Bus session, KS1 students learnt all about Joe’s story and went on to hear about the achievements of other workers from diverse backgrounds, uncovering the history of London’s transport through a culturally aware lens. They first met Joe at his bus stop, before embarking on an adventure around the Museum’s galleries. With a series of clues, the children travelled from vehicle to vehicle, discovering a box at each destination full of stories, photographs and a mystery hat. Using these materials and additional insight from Joe, the students worked out who the hat belonged to and what amazing things they achieved! 

During this process, Soho Primary School also learnt about some of the amazing female transport workers that made history, including Jill Viner. In 1974, Jill was the first woman to drive a bus licensed to carry passengers, when only 14 years before it was forbidden for women to drive passenger buses professionally. 

Other highlights of the session included seeing a real Gibson ticket machine and finding out about all the people that would have used it over the years. The class was full of excitement, getting up close and personal with buses from different time periods and asking Joe lots of questions about his life along the way! 

After the tour, the pupils also took part in a self-guided activity to find more hats that belonged to other London Transport workers including chefs, engineers, and bus conductors. To finish the session, each member of the class created their own paper bus to take away with them as a memento of what they had learnt and the memories of the day.

Visit our Schools page to find out more information about the session and book your place.