FACILITIES that allow children from mainstream and special schools to work together in the same classroom were unveiled yesterday.

An event which focused on the message Learning is for Everyone was held at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary School, Billingham, with pupils from the school and nearby Ashtrees Special School.

Radio commentator Alistair Brownlee unveiled the specialised lifts and disabled toilets, which cost £70,000 and was partly funded by the Access Initiative Project and fundraising events.

Pupils at Holy Rosary raised a total of £7,000 towards the project with a series of fundraising activities.

Alison McLean, deputy headteacher at Holy Rosary, said: "It is something special for children of all ages and abilities working together. We have studied a number of art and ICT projects with great success.

"All the children learn from each other."

Dinner supervisors and parents were part of the celebration.

Christine Kane, supervisory assistant, said: "You only have to see the children's faces to see how much learning together means."