By Matty Bright As we entered the second month of the year,the football fixtures continued to come thick and fast for our Aycliffe Junior teams. Our Under 8s whites had their final game of their season knowing that getting at least one point would win them the league.The team hadn’t lost a single fixture up until this point for their...

The spending tap appears to be back in full flow after Durham County Council revealed plans for a whopping £600m investment over the next few years. And tax payers will foot some of the bill as the local authority revealed a total council tax rise of neatly 4% – with the majority of households set to pay at least £42 extra a year. The...

Drop-in events will showcase how council apprenticeships can open doors for all. National Apprenticeship Week will take place this week, and Durham County Council is showcasing how it supports career changing opportunities. Two drop-in events will offer information about apprenticeships at the council, where they are advertised and how to...

Woodham Academy students have been taking a keen interest in the fires raging around Australia. A group of concerned Year 10 students approached the school’s Wildlife and Ecology Group and asked if they could arrange a ‘Bushfire Bake Sale’ donating all proceeds to the people and animals currently suffering in Australia. Students raised...

Newton Aycliffe skipper Aaron Brown made his 250th appearance for the club in Saturday's win over Consett. Before kick-off chairman Allan Oliver presented Aaron with an engraved salver to mark the occasion. In his programme notes for the game Head Coach Col Stromsoy praised Aaron's dedication, hard work and leadership. As ever, members of...

Thanks to funding from the Great Aycliffe and Middridge Partnership (GAMP), the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) has developed a new project, Town of Our Times, which aims to help Newton Aycliffe become a Dementia Friendly Community. A Dementia Friendly Community is a town where people living with Dementia are understood, respected and...

Crafter’s Companion is expanding its in-house TV team with the appointment of its first lead presenter. In what has become a huge area of expansion for the business and a vital part of its ecommerce strategy, Joe Remblance has joined Crafter’s Companion to host the schedule of shows on the its channel, Crafter’s TV. Joe’s role will...

Select students at Woodham Academy have been offered the opportunity to trial a new vocabulary initiative this term. Bedrock Learning is a vocabulary acquisition programme that explicitly teaches students vocabulary through the medium of technology. Students access ‘lessons’ remotely and apply the vocabulary they have learned to subjects...

Transport operator Nexus insists Hitachi’s recent job losses are not down to them losing out on the £362m Tyne and Wear contract. It was announced this week that the metro operator Nexus had awarded the lucrative project to Swiss firm Stadler. Another Hitachi blow as Tyne & Wear Metro contract goes to Swiss firm The latest blow...

More than £1.7m in funding has been secured to help meet housing needs in the North-East. Durham County Council has been successful in two applications to the government which will support the development of a local lettings agency, and pay for both emergency accommodation and the continuation of workers who will help those with a housing...