A SCHOOL which had just days to raise £20,000 to try to qualify for specialist sports status has met its target after an eleventh-hour bid.

Roseberry Comprehensive School in Pelton, Chester-le-Street, had been working hard since January to raise the £50,000 needed to apply to become a sports college.

The school needed to raise the money before submitting its application to the Government this month. But with just over a week to go, they were still thousands of pounds short, despite the hard work of staff, pupils and parents.

Head of sport Pam Turner said it was thanks to school governor Jim Cordon, who made dozens of phone calls to local organisations that they met their target.

She said: "We worked very hard in the last two-and-a-half weeks. We basically reached our target because one of our governors managed to secure £9,000 in the last week, just by getting local organisations to come on board."

Some last-minute events also helped to raise more than the school expected. A golf tournament at Roseberry Grange Golf Course raised £1,200 and a show by Youth Connections Youth Theatre with the Riverside Brass Band raised a further £2,500.

The school's bid is now being scrutinised by the Department for Education and Skills, which is expected to announce its decision by the end of January. If successful, the Government will match the £50,000 raised, which the school can put towards sports facilities for the school and local community.