A scheme to extend free school meals over the half-term holidays received more than 4,000 applications within hours of its launch. Durham County Council stepped in to provide this much-need support to families who rely on free school meals after the Government voted against extending the national scheme over the school holiday period last...

Woodham Academy has introduced a new mobile library, with big-hearted students delivering books to fellow pupils who can't attend school. One of the healthier side-effects of the recent lockdown and ongoing social distancing has been an increase in home reading; with a recent survey suggesting that 41% of adults reported spending more time...

Durham County Council has been acknowledged as one of the top employers in the country for its apprenticeship opportunities. The local authority was awarded a place in the government’s Top 100 Apprenticeships Employers list announced last week, joining ten other local authorities who have made the list. Made up of employers from the...

Buzz is a German Shepherd and recently retired so he needs a loving home to put his paws up. The seven-year-old is very active and strong-willed so he will need an owner who is confident with the breed and has previous experience. Buzz is happier with larger dogs who are well-balanced and sociable. He loves nothing more than muddy...

By Paul Dalton It was another quiet week in terms of races over the last seven days, with the only event to capture members’ interest being the latest series of graded 5K races organised by North East Project Run, on Saturday, October 24. The 12 graded races took place at Albert Park in Middlesbrough, and Aycliffe Running Club had six...

Year 7 students at Greenfield Community College were buzzing with excitement as their BookBuzz choices arrived in school. Every Year 7 student received a book which they had selected from a list of 17 choices, and all were delighted with their copies, which are theirs to keep. The most popular choice was Crater Lake, a comic horror story...

Great Aycliffe Town Council has moved to distance itself from inflammatory comments made by a local councillor about Covid being a “fake virus”. Independent Aycliffe councillor Irene Hewitson made a string of controversial claims during an outburst at an anti-lockdown protest held at Durham city’s market place on Monday. Her views...

Warwickshire-based international automotive supplier Ricor Global has acquired the assets of Arlington Automotive's Newton Aycliffe site, which was placed into administration earlier this year. The UK group of Arlington counted Nissan, Ford and JLR among its clients and had around 600 people working across bases in Newton Aycliffe, Reading,...

By Gary Beacom A round-up of action from Newton Aycliffe FC’s juniors section… Aycliffe U8s whites (pictured above) played United Whites. It was a competitive match and Harry who was playing up front had three great chances which on another day would have scored. Aycliffe then conceded two scrappy goals. The second half got away and...

Durham County Council has been rolling out energy efficient measures across buildings in its area as part of a commitment to improving the environment. The local authority’s in-house teams have been replacing lights in buildings and public places across the county with more energy efficient LED lighting. The LED retrofit project is part...