HIGH-achieving youngsters have been rewarded with a weekend in the Lake District.

Five pupils from Blackfyne Community School in Consett took part in a drama residential weekend on the shores of Derwent Water.

They joined others pupils from Fyndoune Community College in Sacriston, Deerness Valley School near Durham, Stanley School of Technology, Durham Gilesgate and Moorside School, Consett.

The group was challenged to write a 20-minute play and a musical in just 72 hours. These were then performed in the Lamplight Theatre in Stanley. Both productions were based on young people meeting in an internet chat room, and discover differences between them that initially were invisible.

The children, aged 12-14, are part of the More Able and Talented (MAT) programme. Their schools are members of the Leadership Incentive Grant Collaborative Partnership which receives funding to set up challenging projects for MAT pupils.