SUNDERLAND AFC chairman Bob Murray will relive his childhood today when he opens a £1.8m school in north County Durham.

Greencroft Comprehensive School, in Annfield Plain, was originally on two sites - one in the town and the other at New Kyo - but, following a major refurbishment programme, it is now based on one site at Annfield Plain.

Black Cats boss Mr Murray, a former pupil, will officially open the new facilities, which provide accommodation for the 21st Century.

The new school includes a sports hall with a range of facilities that can also be used for private bookings - badminton courts, cricket nets, a five-a-side football pitch and a climbing wall.

The upper school was closed for six months last year because of asbestos contamination during the improvement works, so all the pupils had to be taught in the lower school site, while some pupils had to use temporary classrooms.

Annfield Plain's County Councillor, John Thompson, said: "It is to the great credit of the headteacher, staff and governors of the school that the inevitable disruption to education was minimised.

"We fully recognise the great efforts of all of those involved in ensuring the pupils were disrupted as little as possible."

Greencroft's headteacher, John Cotton, said all the hard work and sacrifices had been worth it.

He said: "From February to August last year, we had to put the upper school back together again. It involved an extremely complex operation, but when I look round today, I realise it has been worth it.

"Generations of teachers have gone backwards and forwards between the two sites, sometimes three or four times a day.

"To concentrate all our resources on a single site is just tremendous. We have now got state-of-the-art facilities, which are second to none."

The new sports hall is already much in demand. It is also a Sunderland AFC Centre of Excellence.