The search is on for County Durham’s most dedicated schoolchildren. Durham County Council wants to reward youngsters who have an outstanding school attendance record. The authority is tracking down all teenagers in their final year of secondary school and children in the last year of primary school who have never missed even half a day...

The Leader of Durham County Council is calling on the business community to show its support for a light festival which brought a £4.3m boost to the local economy last year. This morning the council’s Cabinet approved a report which detailed the very significant economic benefits of the four-day festival which took place last...

British interest in the Champions League remains with Newtonian Ross Turnbull's Chelsea and we're backing his Blues to conquer the bookies as they face the seemingly immovable object in Barcelona. Chelsea have been a revelation under interim boss Roberto Di Matteo and on Sunday booked their place in one final as they crushed rivals Spurs...

Aycliffe Today’s resident chef Debbie Elizabeth serves up a weekly mouthwatering suggestion specially for our readers… This week… Warm British asparagus with lentil salad and poached egg Serves: 2 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes You will need 1 bundle of British asparagus 3 tbsp olive oil 1 small...

Protestors against a huge wind farm near Newton Aycliffe have been given renewed hope they may be able to thwart it. As reported in today’s Northern Echo, Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson has written to Climate Change Minister Greg Barker asking him to clarify comments he made that suggested no more onshore wind farms would be allowed beyond...

Some of the most famous names in British comedy – including Pete Firman, Stewart Francis and Patrick Monahan – are warming up for the biggest stand up festival ever held in Darlington. The Darlington Comedy Festival, hosted by entertainment business Hilarity Bites, will run throughout July across several venues including Darlington...

By Ryan Gillham Durham Wildcats secured their third win of the season with a 96-85 triumph over play-off hopefuls Guildford Heat. Before the game Mario Flaherty and Michael Davies were both ruled out possibly for the remainder of the season and it looked like the Wildcats would have an even tougher game on their hands but the team...

Brodie Millichap previews this week's TV highlights... Five Picks of the Week The 70s: Monday 9pm, BBC2. In the first of a four-part series, Dominic Sandbrook looks back at the years 1970 to 1972 as he begins his journey through the decade. Expect to see: the housing boom, the arrival of thousands of Ugandan refugees and the 1972...

A Newton Aycliffe-based engineering company supplying the offshore windpower industry expects to see its revenues rise by 50% this year as it wins more work worldwide. As reported in this morning’s Journal, Tekmar Energy is expecting to drive its turnover up to £18.5m in its current financial year, from £12.5m in 2011 as the offshore...

Colin McNeillie's gallery of action pictures from Newton Aycliffe's 2-1 win at Tow Law on Saturday. Click here to read our Match Report ...