LATEST estimates suggest 40 teaching redundancies will be made at schools across County Durham.

The Government set a deadline of last Friday for latest figures for numbers of teachers to be axed.

A spokeswoman for Durham education authority said: "It's a figure that's been known for some time and the position hasn't changed at themoment.Some schools are exercising extreme caution and issuing redundancy notices just in case, but they might not be needed.

"We also know some schools are looking to increase their staff, but we won't know what the overall changes are until we see the final figures in September when the new school term starts."