PUPILS are helping to shape plans for their future school.

Durham County Council plans to build a new school to replace Spennymoor Comprehensive School and Tudhoe Grange School.

Both have surplus places and the buildings are in need of repair so will be merged in new facilities under the Buildings Schools for the Future programme.

A hundred children from the two secondary schools and their ten feeder primary schools took part in a conference yesterday to influence the plans.

They were sharing their ideas on how to combine the best features of their existing schools with improvements and how they want the new building to look and work.

The new school will have 1,300 places for 11 to 16-year-olds and a 200 place sixth form, the location has not yet been decided.

Adults affected by the merger including parents, staff and governors will take part in a similar event, at The Workplace in Newton Aycliffe, today.(wed) The suggestions will then be considered by the council when it develops the school plans.