Woodham Academy has been officially rated as a good school, following a recent Ofsted inspection. Ofsted inspectors found that students at Woodham Academy make strong progress, are well behaved and well cared for, and are proud of their school and their achievements. The Ofsted report also highlights the strength of subject knowledge of...

Newton Aycliffe firm Aycliffe Fabrications, creators of the ‘Aycliffe Head’, has appointed Roman’s former marketing director. Loraine Henderson, who set up Faith Marketing in 2015, has been drafted in by the fabrication specialists to develop and implement the firm’s 2018 marketing strategy. Established in 1980, Aycliffe Fabrications...

Football fans are being offered some simple tips to ensure they stay healthy and safe during the World Cup. With the planet’s biggest soccer show starting on Thursday, footy followers are eagerly awaiting a month of televised games and keeping their fingers crossed for a better showing from England. Durham County Council has issued advice...

By Donna Campbell This week’s running challenges began at the local parkruns where several runners obtained PB’s. Well done to the following: At Shildon – Ian Baronowski achieved a new PB of 26.47 and Susan Clark in a time of 31.17. At Sedgefield – Gem Holland achieved another PB in 26.07 and at Chester-le-Street, Carrieanne...

Society needs to stop worrying about screen addiction and start to embrace the array of opportunities that devices provide to people of all ages. That’s the advice of from a team of researchers who says that screen addiction and the idea that people can’t function without them is simply a myth. The concept of screen addiction is a hot...

The first of TransPennine Express’s new Nova 1 test trains completed its two-month journey from Japan this week, arriving at the Port of Southampton on Monday. The train’s journey included crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as passing through the Panama Canal. The modern Japan-built bullet train inspired fleet is being...

Newtonian Sean Tarling says he’s relishing the prospect of his first coaching role with his hometown club. The 33-year-old helped Aycliffe to successive promotions as a player, captaining the side to an historic Northern League second division title in 2011. Aycliffe have since spent seven seasons in the top flight, while Tarling left for...

Eco-friendly businesses, volunteers and great green projects are being urged to put themselves forward for awards recognising those who look after their local environment. To coincide with World Environment Day nominations opened for the County Durham Environment Awards 2018. Chair of the County Durham Environment Partnership, Oliver...

North-East exports of goods rose by 6.2% to £13bn for the year ending March 2018, compared to the previous 12 months, according to the latest HMRC figures. The national picture shows that exports of goods from England increased by 6.5% to £ £244.6bn. The figures for the first quarter of 2018 (Jan-March) show that the North-East is home to...

Male victims of domestic abuse are encouraged to seek support in a new campaign launched in Durham today. The #NOLESSOFAMAN campaign is aimed at men who are victims of domestic abuse. There are over 2.5 million cases of domestic abuse against men reported in the UK each year. Domestic abuse can be psychological, physical, sexual financial...