A PTA has been set up at St Mary's C of E Middle School in Belford, to carry out fundraising.

Headteacher Lynne Brookes said: "We are asking the children to name the group and we would be delighted if anyone wants to join us or support our efforts in any way.

"We already have events planned to raise funds and encourage parental involvement in the school in the near future."

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Skilled labourer Duncan McPhee suffered a broken back in December 2006 in an accident involving a two-tonne garage door.

The 35-year-old from Beadnell, in Northumberland, previously worked in a number of physically demanding jobs, including stonemasonry, joinery and plumbing, but has had to retrain.

See these pages on the Berwick and Alnwick community sites for links to performance tables for other local schools.

View comparative tables for Northumberland schools: Key Stage 2, GCSE, Post-16.

The children, from Seahouses Middle School, Branton First School, Alnwick South First School and Longridge Towers, made the wildlife models when they took part in the Children's Countryside Day run by the Glendale Agricultural Society.

They include a cardboard red kite, an egg box hedgehog, an orange squirrel, a lemonade bottle salmon and a badger made from boxes.

The impressive creations will now go on display during the half-term holidays in the National Park Visitor Centre, Ingram.

The classes running in Seahouses aim to help Polish children with reading and writing skills in their native language.

Dr Beata Kohlbek, one of the school's founders, said: "This is the first school in the area for Polish children to learn Polish literacy and open up their potential to continue with their first language.

A working group of county councillors will be given the task of investigating the likely future impact of demographic change on the demand for school places across the county.

It will try to identify how many schools are at risk of closure because of falling rolls and how council policies - such as in new housing development - can help tackle the problem.

Gareth Davies was given a signed copy of the Newcastle United legend's autobiography as a present.

The 12-year-old had earlier told family that if it was signed he would climb Ben Nevis and raise cash for his cancer charity, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

The extended services team of the Alnwick Schools Partnership caters for children at the town's Duchess's Community High School, five middle schools, 15 first schools and Alnwick's Barndale House School.

The team has established after-school learning in these schools in four ways, with a peer-to-peer learning programme, professional tutors, voluntary coaches and fun learning days during half-term breaks.

Youngsters from Seahouses Middle School took part in a week-long project to find out about the relationship between local producers and the food on their plate as part of the project.

Pupils visited Northumberland producers Swallows Fish, of Seahouses and Sunny Hill Eggs, based at Detchant Farm near Belford, to whet their appetites for local food.

St Mary's CoE Middle in Belford saw big improvements in its English, maths and science scores, with the number of children getting the target level for maths rising from 68% to 89% in a single year. But Seahouses Middle saw drops in its English and maths scores, though the number of children getting the required level in science stayed high at 91%.

The results meant that St Mary's is ranked 13th and Seahouses 28th out of Northumberland's 45 primary and middle schools.

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St Mary's Church of England Middle School
Seahouses Middle School

Seahouses First School
Belford First School

Northumberland County Council Children's Services report

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The money has been handed out by green support services provder eaga with the help of the Newcastle-based Community Foundation for environmental projects in the North East.

The children will visit farms in North Northumberland to study sustainability, food production, conservation, crop seasonality and reducing food miles.

The school is taking part in the Tree for All project, which enables thousands of schools and youth groups across the country to get out of the classroom and get their hands dirty planting trees in their own school grounds or community spaces.

Manager of day care, Val Kelly, said: "It was a pleasure to have the children visit and was a very effective way of bringing old and young together to learn more about Fairtrade issues."