FOUR pupils from a tiny County Durham school have flown to London to receive a national award.

The pupils make up more than a quarter of the roll at Forest-in-Teesdale school, which has only 14 pupils.

The school was named as a Heritage Star for its contribution to a Local Heritage Initiative project, the Langdon Beck storywalk.

The school won the under-11s category for its illustrated walking guide and was awarded £1,000 at a ceremony in the British Museum.

Headteacher, Carole Connolly said: "It was a great experience. Three of the children had never flown before, so as you can imagine they were very excited. One little boy was convinced he saw God's house in the clouds.

"We were going to spend the prize money on something sensible like a laser printer. But when I asked the children what they wanted they all wanted to go on a trip to Kingswood adventure park, in the Lake District, and the younger ones will be going to Diggerland."

The award was given for the school's ability to make a difference to the community, the way it encouraged community involvement, its hard work, success in overcoming difficulties and its contribution to spreading the heritage message