THE walls of Mount Pleasant Primary School are covered with pictures.

The corridors, reception area and the school hall have all been drafted in to displays the pupils' artistic talents.

The children who attend the school, in Newton Lane, Cockerton, Darlington, have been inspired by artists who were invited to work with pupils thanks to a £40m creative initiative.

More than 40 North-East schools were chosen to benefit from the money, four of them in Darlington.

Beaumont Hill Special School, Corporation Road Junior School, Haughton Comprehensive School and Mount Pleasant Primary School are all working together to encourage more creativity.

The initiative, which is backed by the Government and the Arts Council of England, aims to foster better relations between schools and arts organisations, including theatre companies, web designers and museums.

Children are able to work in creative situations they may not have tried before, such as fashion design, radio and television writing and choreography.

"The pupils have been given fantastic opportunities,", said headteacher Debra de Muschamp.

"Years ago you would not have seen these type of opportunities on the curriculum.

"This term the pupils have had an incredible amount of creative experiences right through the week.

"Often in schools it is expensive to employ all these artistic people and many can only afford to employ someone once a year.

"The creative partnership has allowed us the opportunity to develop ideas all year round. It is a sustained opportunity."

Since the money, which was allocated for two years, was awarded in September, Mount Pleasant has devised a packed curriculum of creative pursuits.

On Mondays pupils throughout the school work with writer in residence Rowena Somerville.

At present she is helping youngsters to write poetry. In the evening, it is the parents' turn.

They are invited to join The Partners in Rhyme group at the school and work with their children on creating poetry.

An arts club and disco dancing class are also held on the same evening.

On Tuesdays the pupils take part in gymnastics; on Wednesday tai chi is on offer and sculptor Will Pym takes a class.

Drama and dance sessions take place on Thursday and Fridays.

A breakfast club is also held every day.

Ms de Muschamp said: "All the classes have been well received. Parents are supporting us by bringing the pupils to all the classes and it is great to see the children just enjoy it. To have so many opportunities is fantastic. You never know what talent you are unlocking. The atmosphere in the school is wonderful."

In future, Mount Pleasant Primary School hopes to develop national and international links with other schools.

At the end of the two year-funding it is hoped the children will take part in a parade around Cockerton and Branksome, showcasing their work.

"There is still a lot of good work to come," said Ms de Muschamp.