How a 'jingle truck' brought Birmingham and Pakistan together

ITV Central reporter Ravneet Nandra went behind the scenes of the preparations of the jingle truck before it finally took off!

Pupils and teachers from six schools in Birmingham teamed up to create a jingle truck reminiscent of the colourful vehicles seen across Pakistan as part of a commonwealth games project.

The students spent months with a local artist painting animals and flowers of the Commonwealth which were used to decorate an old bus.

Children and teachers joined forces at Colmers School in Rednal to decorate the truck, adorned with paintings of animals and plants from across the Commonwealth which the children made whilst linking up with schools in Pakistan.

What is a jingle truck?

Jingle trucks are intricately designed trucks with bright colours and bells.

They get their name from the thousands of chimes that dangle and ring from base of the vehicle whenever it moves.

They're used to give the truck and the truck driver a unique identity among other trucks in the area.

Local artist Sue Guthrie ran workshops to help the children with their designs over several months.

The six schools involved in the project were:

• King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls

• Colmers School and Sixth Form College in Rednal

• Lordswood Boys School in Harborne

• Bellfield Junior School in Northfield

• Woodcock Hill Primary in Northfield

• Turves Green Primary

The Jingle Truck Project was one part of Commonwealth Connections - a partnership between the British Council and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games youth programme, “Bring The Power”, that links 60 schools in the West Midlands with 60 schools across 10 Commonwealth countries.

Once completed, the jingle truck was used as part of a special baton relay between the schools.