He raised concerns the size of the county was not being accounted for in the current grant amid predicted public spending cuts.

Local Government Minister Barbara Follett said: "We will consider the point that the Right Honourable Gentleman has raised."

The Journal, in partnership with Barclays Money Skills, has £20,000 to give away to schools across our region.

But time is running out to register to take part, so we are reminding people to fill in the form (see below) and be in with a chance to win some cash.

A number of schools in the region have already registered, including Cambo First School, in Cambo, near Morpeth (pictured). The prize money can be used to fund any educational project the school chooses - like a school trip, new books or a garden.

Northumberland County Council alerts and reminders »

Wooler weather links »

For links to other local schools' results, including GCSE and Post-16, see the Schools sections on our Berwick and Alnwick community sites.

View comparative tables for Northumberland schools: Key Stage 2, GCSE, Post-16.

Glendale Community Middle School scooped a bronze medal for the best horticultural project in the prestigious Northumbria in Bloom competition.

The school turned the plot from a weed-plagued disaster into a gorgeous garden in just a year.

Dave Vero was head at Milfield First School, near Wooler in Northumberland, which has been shut down due to falling pupil numbers making it no longer viable.

By its last day, the school had only seven full and two part-time pupils.

Milfield First School, near Wooler, closed its doors for the last time two months after Northumberland County Council decided to shut it.

The loss of the village's only school came after an approach to the council by governors who were concerned that falling pupil numbers were making it no longer viable. On its last day the school had a roll of just seven full-time and two part-time pupils.

Its closure is the end of an era for Milfield where a school first opened in 1874.

Jim Wood from Glendale Middle School won the Caretaker of the Year Award, sponsored by ncjMedia.

The ceremony was staged yesterday at the Centre for Life, in Newcastle.

Jim Wood of Glendale Middle school is one of three finalists in the Caretaker of the Year Category.

The awards - which are run by The Journal in association with our sister paper on Teesside, the Evening Gazette, and main sponsors Northumbrian Water - are now in their third year.

Read full story with complete list of finalists »

A working group of county councillors will be given the task of investigating the likely future impact of demographic change on the demand for school places across the county.

It will try to identify how many schools are at risk of closure because of falling rolls and how council policies - such as in new housing development - can help tackle the problem.

A total of 40 schools from Northumberland and Tyne and Wear attended Glendale Agricultural Society's Children's Countryside Day.

The Glendale Agricultural Society's Children's Countryside Day is now in its fifth year and will draw about 1,500 children to the organisation's showfield near Wooler.

Pupils from 40 first schools are attending today's event which is designed to teach children the importance of rural issues.

Milfield First School near Wooler - which has survived two previous attempts to shut it down -- will now close its doors for good at the end of August, saving council taxpayers £80,000 a year.

Governors suggested closure seven months ago amid fears that the financial implications of the school's dwindling pupil numbers will mean youngsters' quality of education suffering.

Cheviot Futures, which looks at practical measures that can be taken to adapt to and profit from changes, will be passing on its message to young people at the Glendale Agricultural Society's Children's Countryside Day next month.

The Defra and EU-funded group, which counts farmers, landowners, and a range of bodies ranging from the Environment Agency to the RSPB as members, is putting up £8,000 to support the event.

The extended services team of the Alnwick Schools Partnership caters for children at the town's Duchess's Community High School, five middle schools, 15 first schools and Alnwick's Barndale House School.

An after school club at Wooler First School, with tutor Zoe Allen

The team has established after-school learning in these schools in four ways, with a peer-to-peer learning programme, professional tutors, voluntary coaches and fun learning days during half-term breaks.