SCHOOLCHILDREN in the region are finding out about Holy Island thanks to a learning pack about the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Pupils of St Joseph's School, in Gateshead, were among the first to sample an education pack from the British Library, which contains lesson plans, classroom ideas, images, games and even a CD with sounds of wildlife from Holy Island, all inspired by the Lindisfarne Gospels.

They have been created and put together by an education consultant who worked with libraries, museums and schools in the region.

The boxes are being distributed to museums and school library services across the North-East so any school can borrow them from their local resource centre.

The Lindisfarne Gospels are the most important surviving treasures from early Northumbria. They were written between 715 and 720 in honour of St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died in 687. It was written in the Monastery of Lindisfarne, popularly known as Holy Island.