A SPENNYMOOR school held a party for children and staff who took part in the Great North Run for charity.

The 53 children and six staff from St Charles' School were inspired to take part in the run by classmate Catherine Readshaw.

Catherine, ten, is in isolation in the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), in Newcastle, after undergoing a bone marrow transplant to cure her leukaemia.

The youngster, from Ferryhill, got her new bone marrow from her sister Nicole, 11, and is making steady progress in hospital.

The children and staff, who trained for six months to take part in the run, raised £2,700 for charity.

The money raised is being used to support two charities, The Children's Cancer Fund and The Patient Comfort Fund at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

The children have been invited to visit the hospital to see how some of the money will be spent.

A member of the hospital staff will be attending an assembly to talk to all of the children in the near future.

As the cheques were presented, headteacher Patrick Naughton told the runners: "Your families and your school are very proud of you, and you should be very proud of yourselves."