A SCHOOL needs to raise only £5,000 more to achieve special sports status.
Longfield Comprehensive School, in Darlington, needs £50,000 before Friday to support its bid.
If it is successful, the Government will provide funding to the school to help it provide the best sporting facilities and coaching for its pupils. Any new facilities will also be open to the public.
The idea to apply for special sports status came from the school's former headteacher, Dr Bill Ions, who died last year.
The school raised £25,000 itself and then asked The Northern Echo to help draw in the extra money.
We started a campaign to help to raise the funds in just two weeks. Since it was launched, pledges have been rolling in.
Longfield School's deputy headteacher, Sue Byrne, said: "It is amazing. We have only got £5,000 left to raise. We have had all sorts of donations, including one from an 82-year-old woman who sent £20 because her son was a pupil when the school first opened."
Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn has backed the campaign.
Support has also come from the school's first headteacher, Austin Brooks, and former Manchester United footballer and Longfield pupil Paul Bielby
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