A CEREMONIAL golden bolt has been fitted into place to celebrate a landmark in the development of a £43m school and sports complex.

Work is well underway on Consett Academy at the Belle Vue site, which also includes a new leisure centre and swimming pools.

Student Adam Davison put the golden bolt into place after winning a school competition, marking the completion of the building's steel structure.

It is the last bolt to be inserted and is sprayed gold so it will be visible when the project has been completed.

Durham county councillor Ossie Johnson, cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “It is fantastic to be able to celebrate the brilliant new facilities on offer at the academy, which will benefit young people in Consett for years to come.”

The leisure centre is expected to open next summer, while students are due to start lessons in their new building from September 2015.

Consett Academy principal Kevin Reynolds added: “This is an exciting project which will give all local children state-of-the-art learning facilities, but it is so much more than a new building – it is a forward-thinking statement of a new vision for education in our area.”

The project is providing economic benefits for the wider region as the building’s frame has been made using 1,000 tonnes of raw steel, which was manufactured in the Tees Valley and fabricated in Sunderland.

Contracts worth more than £5.7m have been handed out to companies in County Durham, creating jobs and apprenticeship opportunities as well as benefitting the existing workforce.

John Reed, head of technical services at Durham County Council, said: “This is a project which will not only benefit young people in the town but also the wider community and the local economy.”