Green-fingered enthusiasts are being asked to hand over their old and broken tools to staff at the Heighley Gate nursery and garden centre near Morpeth next month.

They are urged to take in their unwanted spades, trowels, forks, hoes, rakes and other non-powered equipment between Saturday, February 13 and Sunday 28.

Morpeth arable farmer Jack Storey and Ponteland dairy farmer Dennis Gibb will be visiting Abbeyfields School in Morpeth as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week.

FARMA member Ian Byatt

The school visit, which involves model dairy cow Annabelle, and the opportunity to make butter and grind flour for bread, has been organised by the NFU to support its Why Farming Matters campaign.

The King Edward VI High School - GCSE (2009), Post-16 (2009)

Morpeth Chantry Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)
Morpeth Newminster Middle School - Key Stage 2 (2009)

Collingwood School and Media Arts College- Key Stage 2 (2009), GCSE (2009)

Comparative tables for Northumberland schools: Key Stage 2, GCSE, Post-16

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Edward Matthew, 13, from King Edward VI School in Morpeth will compete in a cook-off against other students at Harrogate College on December 1.

He will battle for the regional title of the quality standard beef and lamb Young Chef Challenge and to win prizes, such as professional chef whites and £200 of school kitchen equipment vouchers.

The Northumbria Police Authority is consulting on four potential options to redevelop or replace the Victorian police station in Morpeth, which is nearing the end of its operational life.

Two of the options involve building on the play area of the adjacent, 360-pupil Morpeth County First School, which was rated as outstanding by Ofsted following its last inspection in 2007.

Governors and staff at 360-pupil Morpeth County First are said to be "astounded and aghast" at the suggestion that part of the school site could be swallowed up by a replacement for the town's Victorian police HQ.

Leaders of the school - which was rated outstanding by Ofsted following a 2007 inspection - say they made it clear to consultants acting for Northumbria Police in the summer that the idea was a non-starter.

A-level business students at King Edward VI School in Morpeth have organised the event at Longhirst Hall in aid of Cancer Research UK on Saturday.

Tickets for the event are available from Katie Green on 07824994207 and cost £12.

Hannah Barnard's father, Jonty, was hit by a stroke when Hannah was only eight and confined to a wheelchair.

After treatment he was able to walk again and on Saturday he was there to cheer his daughter all the way down.

More than 100 people made the 80ft drop from the bridge to Ouseburn Farm to raise money for stroke sufferers and their families and the charity event made around £10,000.

The Real Food Works, one of the companies that will be attending the festival, has been demonstrating the power of its smoothie bike to pupils from nearby Cambo First School, in Northumberland.

As the bike travels, refreshing fruit drinks are prepared on the back, teaching children about the importance of eating a healthy and balanced diet.

The Morrisons store in Morpeth has banned students from the town's King Edward VI School from taking bags into the store, after a shoplifting incident.

Pupils must leave their belongings at the entrance, sparking fury from parents, who claim the system is unfair.

Now, just 12 months on from the events of last September, the effort to get Morpeth back to its blooming best has received a top accolade.

From left, pupils from St. Robert's First School in Morpeth who have helped with the Northumbria in Bloom contest- Caity O' Donnell, David Johnson and Fran Nevens

Yesterday the Northumberland town carried off a gold award and the title of Best Town at the prestigious Northumbria in Bloom Awards 2009 ceremony, which was held in Durham City.

The King Edward VI High School Summer Concert was originally planned to take place in Rothbury in July.

But bad weather caused flooding of roads and police advised that the event should be cancelled.

The sibling success stories were among the highlights at Morpeth's King Edward VI High School, as twin sisters Amy and Rebecca Gibbison and brothers David and Lee Redpath amassed an amazing 36 A* and A grades between them.

Ben Carvin

Amy and Rebecca achieved 19 A* and A grades, while David and Lee managed a total of 17.

Now in their fifties, singers from the old boys' and girls' grammar schools in Morpeth - now The King Edward VI School - are to mark the anniversary of their performance at the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank in London.

In March 1969, the choir was chosen as one of the best in the country and the Queen Mother even said their performance was in keeping with "Morpeth's long musical tradition".

The reunion - a meal in Mitford, near Morpeth on September 12 - has been organised by retired civil servant Mary Lucille Hindmarch, 56, who now lives in London.