PUPILS hope they will fare better than Nasty Nick and Anthea Turner when they stage their own Big Brother contest.

Eight students and a teacher will be locked in a classroom today, when Bishop Barrington School runs a Big Teacher competition for Comic Relief.

Like the television shows, students will be ruthlessly voted out one by one and given tasks to perform throughout the day.

Pupils at the Bishop Auckland school will be able to spy on the inmates' antics through the windows of the temporary building and, during lesson times, a runner will keep classes updated with reports. Classes will then cast their votes for evictions.

However, it will not be a convenient means of missing classes, as important work will be left outside a nearby chicken hut for collection, and classmates will have to return to lessons once they are kicked out.

Teacher Natalie Chapman said: "I believe they may be bringing in games like Twister to keep them going. They will also be having a recording studio in there, as they will have to write a single which they may perform in assembly.

"All in all, we should get quite a lot of money from sponsored events and we should be able to raise about £1,500.