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.

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For other local schools' performance tables, inclusing GCSE and A-level results, see the Hexham, Haltwhistle and Corbridge microsites for links.

View comparative tables for Northumberland schools: Key Stage 2, GCSE, Post-16.

Pupils at Allendale Middle School are taking advantage of plenty of extra-curricular activities.

A lot of attention is on sport and the children appreciate it, with 83% of them getting involved with the different activities. They have achieved successes too, with teams coming high up in the final rankings of county championships.

Whitfield Church of England Voluntary Aided First School has installed a raft of renewable energy measures.

The school's new wind turbine and solar photovoltaic panels will collectively generate more than 10 megawatts of electricity a year.

The families of 15 youngsters say bosses of two councils have "washed their hands" of any responsibility over getting the children to school and back.

Neither Northumberland nor Durham County Council are prepared to continue providing transport to take the 15 youngsters from Hunstanworth, near Blanchland, to school in Northumberland.

A working group of county councillors will be given the task of investigating the likely future impact of demographic change on the demand for school places across the county.

It will try to identify how many schools are at risk of closure because of falling rolls and how council policies - such as in new housing development - can help tackle the problem.

Parents or schools with worries should contact the transport unit on (01670) 533644 or 533673.

Allendale Middle School
Allendale First School
Whitfield Church of England First School

For other local schools' reports see the Hexham, Haltwhistle and Corbridge microsites.

Northumberland County Council Children's Services Ofsted survey

Northumberland County Council Children's Services Ofsted survey

Some of the winners at the event at Hexham, with stars Chris Cook, left, and Nick Gillingham adding support

The competition, held at the Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham, saw 80 children aged eight to 15 compete in a range of events, including team relays, individual front crawl, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.

More than 70 pieces of artwork were entered by pupils at Shaftoe Trust First School, Haydon Bridge, Herdley Bank School, Corbridge Middle School and Allendale Middle School.

The youngsters of Allendale Middle School are working on a series of monologues about life in and around their village.

Using books and stationery donated by supermarket giant Tesco, the children hope to create work reflecting their experiences of Allendale.

The number of children at the school getting five or more GCSEs at A*-C, including English and maths went down from 55% in 2007 to 41% in 2008.

99% of the school's 16-year-olds got at least one qualification and 25% got a grade A*-C in a foreign language.