AN education chief described the launch of a rebuilt school as providing a new era for a town's youngsters.

Redcar MP Vera Baird yesterday launched Bydales School Specialist Technology College, at Marske, which was completely rebuilt to the latest specifications, as part of a £155m schools building programme in east Cleveland.

Councillor Ian Jeffrey, cabinet member for education with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said: "This is the start of a new era for Bydales. It's looking beyond the school and towards the future with an emphasis particularly on environmental issues."

The school has been open for its 800 students since October last year.

Mrs Baird yesterday praised headteacher Tony Hobbs as someone who "has long given the school a sense of energy and excellence as they coped with a new building being built on site".

The school launched a Fairtrade shop as part of its relaunch yesterday.

The celebrations included an eco-footprint workshop, to assess a person's impact on the environment and a video conferencing event tackling sustainability.

There was also an opportunity to view a range of sustainability learning activities - looking at the school's wind turbine, hydrogen fuel cell and photovoltaic solar panel.

Mrs Baird said: "It is impressive that so great an emphasis is placed on sustainability at the school, given the prominence this issue will have in the coming years and the importance of renewable technologies in Teesside."