THE new Percy Hedley Senior School, in Killingworth, North Tyneside, was opened by Princess Alexandra yesterday, almost exactly 50 years after her mother, the then Duchess of Kent, cut the ribbon at the original school building for children with cerebral palsy.

A £3m fundraising appeal, launched in 2000, has enabled the school to acquire the former Killingworth Middle School, which has undergone an extensive refurbishment to provide one of the most modern special schools in the country.

WITNESS PLEA: Police have appealed for witnesses to an assault which resulted in a man suffering an eye injury. The attack happened in the Wheatsheaf pub, near Sunderland's Stadium of Light, at 8pm on Tuesday. A police spokesman said the 30-year-old victim was taken to the Sunderland Eye Infirmary for treatment. Two men are helping police with their inquiries. Anyone with information has been asked to call 0191-454 7555, extension 66126.

TASTER COURSE: Derwent-side College will be running a taster course in cake decorating at Tanfield Lea Community Centre starting on Tuesday afternoons from October 14. The classes will be held from 1pm to 3.30pm for four weeks. To enrol, or for more information, contact (01207) 231570.

SALE DATE: A table-top sale will be held at the Blackhill Community Centre, from 10am, on Saturday, October 11. The cost is £3 per. For further information, contact (01207) 504272.

COFFEE MORNING: Kyo Law Methodist Church will hold a coffee morning, from 10am to 11.30am, on Saturday. All are welcome.

CATHEDRAL EVENSONG: An Evensong to mark the end of Children's Hospice Awareness Week will be held at Durham Cathedral at 3.30pm on Sunday. Butterwick Children's Hospice founder Mary Butterwick will read one of the lessons.

QUIZ NIGHT: The charity Cancer Research UK will hold a quiz night at Chester-le-Street Cricket Club on Wednesday, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £2. There will be a raffle and prizes.

COFFEE MORNING: Durham City Women's Forum is inviting people to take part in the event it is holding for Macmillan Cancer Relief's World's Biggest Coffee Morning in the small hall at Durham Town Hall tomorrow between 9.30am and noon.

DANCE TALK: Shadforth Village Association is holding a meeting to discuss the possibility of staging old time dance sessions. The meeting will take place on Thursday next week in the village hall, between 1pm and 3pm.

HISTORY BOOK: Anyone with information, memories, stories or photographs of The Grove Methodist Church, Consett, is asked to contact Mildred Weatherley, who is writing a book about the church's 60-year history, on (01207) 509493.

HEALING HANDS: The National Federation of Spiritual Healers is holding a healing session on Saturday, between 1.30pm and 4pm, in Shakespeare Hall, North Road, Durham.