HIGH quality PE provision has earned a Durham City primary school a national accolade.

St Godric's RC Primary School has been presented with an Activemark Gold Award in recognition of its commitment to promoting the benefits of physical activity.

The Newton Hall school is one of only 23 nationally to win a gold award in the latest round of applications, and is the only school in County Durham to achieve the accolade.

Headteacher Irene Osborne described the honour, presented by Sport England, the former Sports Council, as "a tremendous achievement" for St Godric's.

She said: "I'm delighted that Sport England has recognised our commitment to providing opportunities for physical activity.

"It's not easy with competing priorities in the curriculum, but at this school we feel that physical activity is very important."

Mrs Osborne said the school's PE coordinator, Paul Honour, must take a lot of credit.

Schools throughout the country are being encouraged to promote physical fitness among pupils, as part of the Get Active, Stay Active campaign by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Every school registering an intent to follow the Activemark programme receives an Active School Resource Pack produced by the BHF.

The scheme was launched with primary schools in mind, following the success of the popular Sportsmark awards at secondary school level.