SCHOOLCHILDREN stood in silent tribute on Monday to remember a popular teacher who was killed in a road crash at the weekend.

A special assembly was held at Staindrop Comprehensive School where food technology teacher Jennifer Askew, 54, had worked for 13 years.

The mother-of-two, from School Street, Witton-le-Wear, died in Darlington Memorial Hospital early on Saturday.

She had been trapped in her Ford Fiesta following a head-on collision with a Peugeot 306 driven by a 20-year-old man from the same village on Friday evening on the C18A road between Witton-le-Wear and Howden-le-Wear.

News of Mrs Askew's death had reached many of Staindrop's 560 pupils by the time they arrived at school on Monday.

Staff, who had been told of the tragedy by telephone over the weekend, broke the news to the rest of the students before they gathered to pray for Mrs Askew, her husband Jeremy, son Jonathan, 16, and his 20-year-old sister Sarah.

Another assembly was held on Tuesday for the year group Mrs Askew led, Year 8.

Headteacher Brian Kinnair led the tributes.

He said: "She was an excellent teacher because she cared so much for the pupils. Her examination results were outstanding because she was so supportive and was prepared to go that extra mile.

"In her role as head of year she was instrumental in encouraging pupils to get involved in the community and to contribute to charities, in particular the Butterwick Hospice.

"Everyone at the school will miss her tremendously.

"The children are deeply upset. Today I have had many of them coming to me asking if they can go to the funeral."

As a tribute to Mrs Askew, who used to run the Victoria pub in Witton-le-Wear with her husband, a presentation of money raised by pupils for the Butterwick Hospice is going ahead this morning.

Children and staff are also donating money to the charity in her memory.