A hundred children from eight primary schools took part in the inaugural Fit for Life Festival at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre. The youngsters took part in a carousel of activities which included skill stations and workout stations. The event is the first of its kind to be delivered to Primary School children in the area. Children...

Window cleaners, taxi drivers and hotel receptionists could hold the key to freeing those trapped in the misery of modern-day slavery. Police believe that small business owners and independent traders could be best placed to help victims escape the exploitation by spotting the tell-tale signs on the doorstep. It is hoped that around 50...

Newton Aycliffe 1, Ashington 1 By Dave Strickland Newton Aycliffe drew 1-1 at home to Ashington in a game of poor quality and few clear-cut chances, although the strong wind was a factor throughout the match. The Newtonians started sluggishly and Ashington took advantage in the fifth minute. Aycliffe failed to clear a corner and...

In every issue of our Aycliffe Today Business magazine, we take a break and sit down with a different employee or business owner to ask them 20 questions on a variety of subjects. In our latest issue, Newton Press key account manager and Aycliffe Business Park Community board member Stephen Gosnay was in the chair… 1. What do you do? A: I...

The February half-term holidays were a buzz of activity with sessions led by Greenfield Arts. The Aycliffe session, led by mixed media artist, Sharron Bates was full to the brim with families coming together to get creative and spend quality time together, with over twenty budding artists taking part. “The young people had a wonderful time...

Newton Aycliffe town centre’s landlords have pinpointed the surge of online shopping as the main reason for the high street decline. But Freshwater, which owns Aycliffe, insists it has adopted a “proactive” approach to attracting brands to the town – despite admitting a raft of departures and a failure to secure a “major high street...

Andrew Bell has been appointed as Woodham’s new headteacher from September. He will replace the current headteacher, Christine Forsyth, who is retiring in August. Andrew joined Woodham in 2013 and, as deputy headteacher, has been responsible for student outcomes. Under his leadership, students of all abilities have made good progress,...

A business coach claimed improved staff competency can boost a company’s productivity by as much as 30% during a fascinating workshop delivered to Aycliffe businesses. Darren Race, managing director of Aycliffe-based Think Eleven, says average productivity in the workforce stands at around 55% – and can be as low as 24%. But he has...

A lack of choice and apparent high rent rates appears to be the main frustrations from Aycliffe residents about the town centre. Almost 100 comments were posted on our Facebook page, most of them negative, when we asked local people for their views on the shopping precinct. While some people have praised the landlords, Freshwater, for their...

Newton Aycliffe 0, Sunderland RCA 1 By Dave Strickland Newton Aycliffe put up a good show at home to in-form Sunderland RCA, but went down 1-0, conceding another injury time goal on Tuesday night. RCA started slightly the better, with Preston bringing a save from Adam Pickford after 4 minutes. Five minutes later, RCA were unlucky not...