ABOUT 500 children from 35 schools are setting themselves on the road to sporting success this week when they take part in a two-day gymnastics festival.

Infant, junior and secondary pupils aged from four to 18 will be at two centres tomorrow and Wednesday, to launch the Wear Valley School Sport Coordinators programme.

Organisers have called in a 93-year-old former Olympic athlete to boost their drive to direct young people towards a healthy lifestyle.

Alex Burns, who ran in the 10,000m at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, will meet children from schools in Bishop Auckland and surrounding villages at King James 1 Community College tomorrow.

The next day, about 300 youngsters from 20 dales schools will be at the Spectrum Leisure Complex, in Willington.

They will see displays by gymnasts from the Deerness Valley High Performance Centre, led by Great Britain coach Karl Wharton.

All the gymnasts are members of the Great Britain team. The centre operates under Sport UK's World Class Programme.

Part of Mr Wharton's role is to oversee performance development in the region.

Supporting him for the festival will be his brother, Glen, who is the newly-appointed president of the sport's international governing body.

The School Sport Coordinators programme, which is one of the first pilot schemes in the country, is supported by Sport England National Lottery funding.

It provides specialist physical education teachers to work in secondary schools, who also support staff in feeder primaries.

It is a partnership between Durham County Council and Wear Valley District Council, and is managed by the county council's PE and sports development unit with a two-year sponsorship from Northern Electric and Gas.

Wear Valley was chosen for the pilot because it is one of the country's 12 Sport Action Zones.

Next year, the focus will be on net games, such as tennis and table-tennis