Tower & Co, the student business formed by pupils at Longridge Towers School, is busy preparing for an important trade fair at the Gateshead Metrocentre on February 7. Part of the Young Enterprise Scheme, the pupils are hoping that their unique range of hand crafted canvas prints will win them a place in the Northern finals of the competition.

The Young Enterprise Scheme is designed to give secondary school pupils a taste of how it feels to work in a business.

Teams from Berwick, Allendale, Alnwick and Prudhoe took part in the Key Stage Three and Four Northumberland Schools Badminton County Final organised by Badminton England and the School Sports Partnership..

Northumberland Schools Badminton County Final Key Stage Four winners (back) and the stage three victors (front) receive their trophies at Ashington Leisure Centre

For the first time, all six School Sports Partnerships in Northumberland - Ashington, Blyth and Bedlington, Cramlington and Seaton Valley, Morpeth and Ponteland, North Northumberland and Tynedale - were involved in the competition.

Longridge Towers near Berwick is opening its doors to parents and prospective pupils on Sunday, February 7 from 9.15am to 1.15pm.

To find out more or reserve a place, phone Shelagh Phillips on 01289 307584 or email sphillips@lts.org.uk

Berwick Community High School - GCSE (2009), Post-16 (2009)

Berwick Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)
Tweedmouth Community Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)

The Grove Special School - Key Stage 2 (2009), GCSE (2009)

Longridge Towers School - GCSE (2009), Post-16

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

Cornhill First School
Norham St Ceolwulfs C of E VC First School
St Mary's First School, Berwick
The Grove Special School
Tweedmouth Prior Park Nursery (closed until Monday 18th)

There are ongoing problems with Northumberland school transport services from very rural areas and parents are advised contact the transport provider to check collection is possible and, if not, whether an alternative collection point can be arranged. Click the council link below for more information.

Northumberland County Council alerts and reminders »

Berwick weather links »

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service and Northumbria Police held events for groups of 17- to 25-year-olds on November 16 and 23.

The sessions were attended by students from local schools and colleges as well as drivers who have just passed their test.

The 16 pupils and two teachers from Longridge Towers School near Berwick travelled to Iceland on an amazing field trip where they got to see real-life examples in the landscape of the geographical formations they had read about in the classroom.

The GSCE and A-Level pupils got to learn about hot springs, waterfalls and glaciers as well as visiting Reykjavík, Iceland's capital city.

From left: Rachel Bullen, Matthew Lloyd, Abbie Cockburn, Nathan Thompson and Megan Currah

Year 13 pupils from Berwick High School are taking part in the joint initiative with the town's WorkSpace business centre, where the six teams met the panel of mentors which will be following their progress for the first time.

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.

Prior Park First School at Tweedmouth closed to nursery children on Tuesday lunchtime after the leak was discovered, and to first school children yesterday.

Longridge Towers School near Berwick, believes it is the first school in the country to offer a course of lessons in the traditional activity of aristocrats.

Longridge Towers Y9 pupil Thomas Roberts with Shadow the harris hawk

It is part of a series of new extracurricular activities the £21,000-a-year boarding school launched this term for children to take part in at lunchtimes and after school clubs.

Darren Adamson has been given a job at Berwick High School in Northumberland, despite having been sacked from a previous job after admitting accessing porn on school computers and phoning sex lines from work.

Now, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a local education authority governor at the school, has insisted headteacher Steve Quinlan would not have made a decision, in employing Mr Adamson, that would put children at risk.

However, while the county team returned home with two gold, one silver and one bronze, it was an uphill battle to follow the medal haul of last year when the championships were in Gateshead.

This time round, Northumberland's gold medalists were Niall Flannery and Laura Weightman (pictured centre receiving her medal from Dame Kelly Holmes).

Longridge Towers School, near Berwick, has been rated by Visit Britain as a three-star hostel accommodation provider.

The Grade II Listed Victorian mansion house can accommodate groups of up to 31 people and will be available in the school holidays.

Call Sheena Fleming at Longridge on (01289) 307 584 for bookings.

Marcus Weeks, from Longridge Towers School, won a leadership award at the Young Enterprise North East awards for his work as managing director of school business project TQ Clothing.

The school's head of sixth form was so impressed by the work done by Marcus and other sixth- formers with the business that she nominated him for an award.