NEWCASTLE United have finally won some silverware this season - for pioneering work in education.
The club has won a Quality in Study award for the Newcastle United Learning Centre, in St James' Park.
The centre, which opened in 1997, is part of the Government's Playing for Success scheme. It uses football as a motivational tool to raise literacy, numeracy and ICT standards in school pupils at key stage two and three of the national curriculum.
It is visited by more than 1,000 schoolchildren a week. A further 300 adults use it every week as an out-of-hours learning facility.
Centre manager, Phil McBride, said: "This is an excellent achievement for the learning centre and the city and underlines the positive impact we have had on learning since the centre opened."
Stephen Twigg MP, under secretary of state for schools, presented the award to Martin Ashburn, ICT consultant at the centre, at the Playing For Success national conference in Warwickshire.
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