IMPROVING schools around the region are being rewarded with government cash bonuses of up to £25,000.

Rising standards in hundreds of primary and secondary schools in the North-East and North Yorkshire have earned Achievement Awards for staff.

Tudhoe Grange School, in Spennymoor, County Durham, which is one of the 463 selected schools in the North-East, will get £20,520, because it has raised its GCSE average points score by twice the national average since 1997.

Headteacher Mike Mallin said: "We are delighted. It is nice to see the progress we have made has been recognised."

Another example is St Bega's RC Primary, in Hartlepool, which has earned an excellence award of £3,860 for pupils' achievements in Key Stage 2 tests.