Students from Ashington Community High School went along to Hauxley nature reserve with Alex Lister, Northumberland Wildlife Trust's estates officer - but they got a lot more than they bargained for on the trip.

From left: Chay Park, Tony Hall (Ashington Community High School), James Short, Shaun Smith, Judie McCourt (PPL), Alex Lister (Northumberland Wildlife Trust), Sam Alderson, Jamie Skelsey and David Brack

People's Postcode Lottery street prize presenter Judie McCourt had donned her union jack wellies and travelled to the reserve to present a huge cheque to Alex - who gladly received it on behalf of the wildlife charity.

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.

Professors Ju-Young Sung and Jin-Young Kim from the Kyongbuk Science University visited Northumberland College to learn about the UK's National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) system, in order to develop a similar system in Korea.

The exchange project, known as Passport to NVQs, is part of the Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education to secure the UK's position as a leader in international education.

The Korean duo are tourism specialists and were partnered with the college because of its expertise in that area.

Around 30 pupils from Ashington met on the beach at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea after their designs for sub-sea ploughs were turned into the real deal by engineers.

Hirst Park Middle School pupils Harry Bainbridge and Jordan Dixon test out sub-sea ploughs at Newbiggin beach

The children, all aged between 12 and 13, at Hirst Park Middle School, in Ashington, raced the two mean machines along the sand at a special unveiling event.

Education officials at the county council have submitted a planning application to demolish Hirst High School in Ashington and build the new academy - sponsored by the Duke of Northumberland and the Church of England - on adjacent land.

The new building will cater for almost 2,000 junior, senior and special educational needs children, and form the centrepiece of the five-site Hirst Academy.

A report by a watchdog has praised the quality of physical education at a school in Ashington - the breeding ground of soccer legends Bobby and Jack Charlton and Jackie Milburn, cricket ace Steve Harmison and top golfer Kenneth Ferrie.

Ashington High, which is a 1,100-student specialist sports college, has been given an "outstanding" rating by Ofsted for the overall effectiveness and achievement of its PE department.

Eight months ago a ballot of lecturers at the Ashington-based Northumberland College resulted in 82% supporting strike action and 96% backing industrial action short of a strike.

The ballot of the 130-member local branch of the University and College Union (UCU) came after management refused to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of a cost-cutting drive to shed 33.5 full-time equivalent posts from the 300-strong workforce.

The threat of industrial action was eventually called off after the dispute was resolved at a meeting between UCU officials and college bosses.

Northumberland College - Post-16 (2009)
Ashington Community High School - GCSE (2009), Post-16 (2009)
Hirst High School (now closed)- GCSE (2009), Post-16 (2009)

St Benedict's Roman Catholic Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)
Ashington Hirst Park Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)
Bothal Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)

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

Ashington High School was forced to close between Wednesday and yesterday after the snow and ice made the car park and paths too dangerous for teachers and pupils.

The closure caused concern for the parents of students who are sitting GCSE and A-level exams next week.

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Pupils at Bothal Middle School Sports College in Ashington have been given a gold award by the Woodland Trust for getting involved in work such as tree planting, cutting carbon emissions and recycling.

The awards scheme launched this year offers schools the opportunity to bring the great outdoors, the world of wildlife and green issues into the classroom, with the help of a range of resources.

The Year Four pupil at Wansbeck First School, in Ashington, was one of 11 youngsters to see their snaps chosen to appear in a new 2010 calendar.

The competition was held by the Asda store, in Lintonville Terrace, which encouraged children to take photos of places that represented the town.

The Durham fast bowler paid a visit to Bothal Middle School, in Ashington, for a ceremony after it achieved sports college status.

He also officially opened a new £500,000 refurbished sports block and took time out to wow young fans and showcase his bowling skills in a friendly game of cricket with students.

Harmison, who attended the school up until 1992, said the visit brought back memories of his days doing PE outdoors. "I loved PE, but I can remember when we played outside it was cold, but it was even colder inside.

Children from Bothal Middle School, Hirst Park Middle School, Wansbeck First School and Ashington Central First School will now be producing their own newspapers after 68 13-year-olds visited the ncjMedia building in Newcastle to finalise their stories.

The visit was organised by the Wansbeck Education Enterprise Network (WEEN) and the Press Association Media Experience in Newcastle, and the four schools are now about to print their first editions.

The Ashington Learning Partnership was formed by bringing together five schools with a total of more than 3,000 pupils to create a single learning establishment for local youngsters aged from three to 18.

The federation was set up after Ashington Community High School applied to become one of the first trust schools in the country.