THE Queen's own representative has spent the day meeting pupils and staff in the schools and colleges of Hartlepool.

Sue Snowdon, the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, also met the town's mayor, Cllr Mary Fleet and Cllr Chris Simmons, chairman of Hartlepool Borough Council's Children's Services Committee, during the day-long tour.

Mrs Snowdon, visited West View Primary School and English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College and performed the official opening at the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the former Brierton School site.

Speaking at the official opening of CETL, the Lord Lieutenant said: “This is an absolutely fantastic facility which I understand will be used by the whole community to encourage lifelong learning and play a key role in the ongoing efforts to drive up education standards across the town."

CETL’s facilities include a conference hall, conference suite and four meeting rooms which all have Wi-Fi, hearing loops and IT facilities.

The Lord Lieutenant was equally impressed following her visit to the two schools.

The visit by the Queen’s representative started at West View Primary School where Headteacher Andy Brown conducted a tour of the school and facilities and she went on to English Martyrs.