Designs for the Tynedale Creative and Media Skills Centre - next to Prudhoe Community High School - have gone on public display.

The centre will house state-of-the-art media production facilities in a leading edge building shared across the Tynedale Virtual College - a partnership of the four high schools in the area along with Northumberland College, Dilston College and Hexham Priory School.

Everyone has given extra effort to ensure each pupil fulfills their potential and, with good links to the community, the whole 'school family' is involved.

Tesco fun run at Acomb First School

The hard work has paid off, with a stunning Ofsted report that remarked on the way 'staff unfailingly go the extra mile' and how pupils are 'well motivated and enjoyment is palpable'.

Queen Elizabeth High School - GCSE (2009), Post-16 (2009)

Hexham Middle School- Key Stage 2 (2009)
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Middle School- Key Stage 2 (2009)

Hexham Priory School- Key Stage 2 (2009), GCSE (2009)

Comparative tables for Northumberland schools: Key Stage 2, GCSE, Post-16

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Children at the Hexham Priory School in Northumberland are enjoying their new playground equipment, bought with one of the Evening Chronicle's biggest Sunshine Fund grants.

The new swings, slides, climbing frame, roundabout, see-saw and football goalposts have topped off the school's £6.8m rebuild completed in September.

And the children have wasted no time in trying out their favourite rides.

Headteacher Michael Thompson said the £39,000 donation has already changed the lives of his 60 students, who have special educational needs.

The school, near Sandhoe in the Tyne Valley, works hard to ensure the pupils are well cared for, not simply through its very close links with parents and carers, but also through the school's attitude towards its pupils.

Staff take time to look after the children as individuals rather than treating them all the same. Acting head Eileen Daniel said: "We strive to meet the needs of individual learners and we aim to develop learning based on practical experiences wherever possible.

Pupils at Newbrough First School in Hexham have come up with a winning menu which is set to be served up in schools across Northumberland on November 11.

Youngsters across the county were asked to come up with healthy dishes as part of the National School Meals Week.

The prize menu was Mediterranean pasta with chicken and bacon, followed by Eve's Pudding for dessert.

Coun Lesley Rickerby, Northumberland County Council's executive member for children's services, said: "It has been a pleasure looking through the various menus and I'm amazed at the amount of nutritious recipes that have been put forward."

David Almond will be at Beaufront First School near Hexham on Wednesday to open the eco-friendly extension that will allow the school to take more children and give more room for activities.

Northumberland County Council appointed Space Group to design the new Hexham Priory Special Needs School, in Dene Park, Hexham, to cater for an increasing demand for spaces.

The school, which teaches youngsters with profound learning difficulties aged from three to 19, can now cater for 80 students, double its previous capacity.

Almost half of exam entries resulted in grades A or B while around a dozen students got straight As.

Headteacher Neil Morrison said: Overall we are pleased with the results.

But unlike her new classmates, the brave four-year-old is battling a rare wasting disease, called leukodystrophy.

Anya Potter with her dad Craig, mum Kerry and sister Taylor

She is not expected to live past her teens and will gradually lose mobility and co-ordination.

Hexham's Queen Elizabeth High School offered entertainment for members of the public with its 'Here Comes Summer' day.

The group of 35 visitors enjoyed refreshments in the QEHS Conference Centre, where facilitator Sue Jewitt and the school's business manager Susan Hope gave a brief outline of the day.

The girl, who attends St Joseph's Middle School in Hexham, contracted the disease from a relative who had recently returned from Spain.

Both sufferers, who are reported to be sisters, have only mild symptoms, and have not needed hospital treatment. The pupil was not at school while contagious, so it did not have to close.

The 11-year-old, who hasn't been named, was hit at an accident blackspot in Northumberland.

The youngster was walking on Allendale Road in Hexham when she was hit by the ambulance.