James Bond the new school bus driver leaves passengers neither shaken nor stirred

There is no Aston Martin for this James Bond, the latest recruit to the Oswestry School minibus driving team.

In true spy form, James Bond is keeping tight-lipped about his past and denies working at any other job prior to his retirement than being a journalist.

His application for the job said he worked for the BBC for 36 years, starting and finishing at Radio Shropshire.

However, in between he became an online sport journalist, in London.

Staff and pupils at the school think the journalism was just an elaborate cover story for his life as 007 as they point out the BBC job took him all over the world from Canada to Barcelona, and could have been the perfect cover story for a spy on a host of secret missions.

Oswestry School headteacher Peter Middleton said: “We take the safety and comfort of our pupils very seriously so when we were looking to recruit a new bus driver for the Nesscliffe, Adcote, Kinton, Kinnerley, Knockin Heath, West Felton route and had an application from James Bond, we knew he would be a perfect fit.

“Having seen all the films, I knew James Bond could drive everything from an Aston Martin to a jet ski so we knew everyone on his bus would be in safe hands.

"It turns out 007 settled down and has a wife called Calli, who enjoys baking for 11 pupils he drives – earning his vehicle the nickname 'the cake bus'.”

James decided it was time to retire from his full-time work and applied to drive a minibus for Oswestry School as he wanted a role where he didn't have to work such long hours and could switch off after work.

And he has proven that his driving leaves the pupils neither shaken nor stirred.

Oswestry School currently offers 12 different travel routes across Shropshire, Powys and Wrexham and Cheshire which are assessed every academic year to ensure the schools caters to the needs of pupils and their families.