MORE than 300 youngsters came together for a concert of world music.

The performance, at the Lamplight Arts Centre, Stanley, was the first of a series of events to mark the end of Forging the Future, a major arts project in north Durham.

The £200,000 scheme sent professional musicians, performers and artists into schools and aimed to boost pupils' self confidence and tackle social exclusion. It was delivered by The Forge, Durham and Sunderland's arts and education agency. The concert, dubbed A Musical Journey to Four Corners of the World, featured pupils from Bloemfontein Primary, Leadgate Infants, Lumley Juniors, Lumley Medway Infants, Moorside Primary, and South Moor Greenland Infants. Pupils from Moorside Comprehensive in Consett will have their celebrations at the Empire Theatre, Consett, on April 1.