FUNDRAISING efforts by Spennymoor youngsters have opened up a new world of opportunities for a deaf schoolboy.

Pupils at Tudhoe Grange Comprehensive School held a non-uniform day, disco and sponsored silence in aid of a classmate Laura Wareham's younger brother, Ryan.

Each year, the school nominates a local child to support instead of joining the national Children In Need appeal.

When Laura suggested helping profoundly deaf Ryan, the rest of the school backed her plan and raised £2,863.

The money has enabled parents Karen and Andrew, of Hillside Court, to buy Ryan a laptop computer with specialist software and a radio-listening device to boost his hearing aids.

The ten-year-old now has the freedom to play football and go cycling - and still pick up his parents' voices using a speaker clipped to their clothes and tuned into his hearing aids.

Mrs Wareham said: "We cannot put into words how much we appreciate this. He has to put in extra effort to learn, but the laptop will really help and for him to be able to play outside and hear what we say will be wonderful."

Ryan's school, Sherburn Hill Primary, near Durham, which caters for children with hearing impairments, will receive a £500 donation from the total.

Tudhoe Grange's other recent cash crusade's include £921.82 for tsunami aid and about £500 for children's charity Unicef.