NEVILLE’S Cross Primary School in Durham officially opened a new multi use games area during Saturday’s summer fair.

The games area was formally opened by chairwoman of the governors, Jenny Search, and chairwoman of the PTA, Jacki Patrickson, following a two-and-a-half year campaign to raise the £60,000 required for the new area.

Fundraising started in summer of 2016 when, Jenny, Jacki and fellow parents, Libby Unsworth and Michael Sykes raised £10,000 by swimming the English Channel in a relay. From then, they went on to form the Neville’s Cross Battlers, a programme to encourage parents, teachers and children to set and achieve their own challenges. These have included two marathons, a coast to coast cycle and a 100km running challenge for siblings Oscar, seven, and Zara, eight, Brown.

Jacki said “I am so proud of all of the parents, children, teachers and staff who have joined in with the campaign over the past two years. There is a real buzz and can-do attitude about the school, produced by this sense of achievement in achieving our goal. I am thrilled to finally see it in use.”

The campaign also received funding from Durham County Council AAP, Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Bags of Help, Sir James Knott Trust, Rotary and Northumbria Financial Management.