A request has been lodged with Northumberland County Council to put forward Branton First School as a future option for children currently at Eglingham Church of England First, which is due to close later this year.

At a public meeting over the closure of Eglingham, Branton First School headteacher Alison Lloyd-Harris voiced concerns over the council's proposal to divide the Eglingham catchment area between Ellingham, across the A1, and Whittingham first schools.

Landscape paintings done by art students at the Duchess's High School in Alnwick in workshops led by artist Mick Oxley last year are on show at the capital's Saatchi gallery.

The work was done by Ruth Adamson, Stephanie Tait, Emma Sheppard and Faye Haswell through the Duchess's' participation in Saatchi's online gallery for schools.

Mr Coaker made the admission in the House of Commons after coming under pressure from Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith over the state of Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick.

But no date has yet been set as to when work at the school could begin, with officials yet to make a decision.

Parents of children at Eglingham Church of England First School, near Alnwick, were informed by letter yesterday after the decision to ask Northumberland County Council to begin the closure process was taken last week.

Rachel Smailes, Poppy Colingwood-Cameron and sister Olive enjoy their time at Eglingham First School

Pupil numbers at the school have dropped in recent years to the current 14 as rising house prices have meant fewer young families living in the village.

The Duchess's Community High School - GCSE (2009), Post-16 (2009).

The Dukes Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)
Alnwick Lindisfarne Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)
Thomas Percy Roman Catholic Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)

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The 10-year-old from Alnwick's Lindisfarne Middle School was one of the dozens of youngsters involved in the summer-long initiative.

Friar's chosen sport was golf and he participated in a 10-week programme at Alnwick Golf Club, being subsequently entered into a county-wide prize draw for attending 100% of the sessions.

Numbers at Eglingham First School, near Alnwick, Northumberland, have dropped in recent years to the current 14 as rising house prices have meant fewer young families living in the village.

Pupils, from left, Emily Kate Bennett, Grace Collingwood Cameron, Rachel Smailes (all 8) and governor Ali Wrangham

Earlier this year, governors began a campaign to attract new children after revealing the future of the school, which has served the village since 1868, was under threat.

Governors, teachers, children and their parents will be at Eglingham First School on Saturday, November 21 from 10am to 1pm.

A decline in pupil numbers has led to the threat of closure at the award-winning school and it is hoped more parents can be attracted by its strong results and small class sizes.

Caroline Dickinson, 54, of Alnwick died at St Oswald's Hospice in Newcastle on Sunday following an 16-month fight against Lymphoma Non-Hodgkins.

Mrs Dickinson, who was headteacher at Ellingham First School for eight years and briefly at Morpeth's All Saints First, was diagnosed with the disease in June 2008 and stopped working.

The children, from Seahouses Middle School, Branton First School, Alnwick South First School and Longridge Towers, made the wildlife models when they took part in the Children's Countryside Day run by the Glendale Agricultural Society.

They include a cardboard red kite, an egg box hedgehog, an orange squirrel, a lemonade bottle salmon and a badger made from boxes.

The impressive creations will now go on display during the half-term holidays in the National Park Visitor Centre, Ingram.

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker also promised to look into whether the Government could fund new buildings for Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick.

Mr Coaker spoke after visiting the school yesterday morning to see the problems posed for pupils and staff by the state of its ageing buildings.

A report for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DSCF) - which included research on four schools in north west Northumberland - comes at a time when the financial viability of smaller schools is being questioned.

Thropton First School

Report authors the Eastern Leadership Centre have laid out ways schools could work more closely together - such as through federations under a single headteacher - to save some of the costs involved with rural schools.

Eglingham First School in Northumberland organised a campaign entitled Be Happy, Be Here in a bid to attract new pupils.

At the time, the school had 18 children, but with no new blood arriving at the start of term, it now has only 14. Nine of those are set to leave next summer.

A toddlers' group, which meets at Eglingham every week, is now laying on extra activities in the hope that more parents will bring their children along, see them have fun and want to send them to school there when they are old enough.

School governor Ali Wrangham called the group's actions "fantastic". "We will support anything they want to do because they are the future," he said.

More teenagers than ever are leaving North East schools with at least five A* to C grades.

And thousands of pupils were seeing stars yesterday as they achieved the highest grade possible.

At Duchess's High School in Alnwick, Northumberland, students set a record with more than 70% achieving five or more A* to C grades.