PUPILS who will be studying in the new Education Village in Darlington after Easter have spent a day in their new school.

Pupils from Springfield Primary, Haughton Community and Beaumont Hill Technology College have all visited the village this week.

The three schools merge on April 24 and the day visits are designed to help students feel comfortable in the building before they start lessons.

The village's executive director, Dame Dela Smith, said the children were stunned by the facilities.

"Springfield Primary spent a day here on Monday and they all recorded their feelings. They called it mint, superb and fantastic. They were really astonished by it all. The day went incredibly well.

"Beaumont Hill were here on Tuesday and they were over the moon. The parents think it is brilliant, they can't believe it," she said.

The school, which cost £37.3m, is the first one in the country to put a special school at its centre - and it is being regarded as a national example. One in seven local authorities has already paid a visit - and many more have inquired about the building.

On Monday, the children's commissioner, Professor Al Aynsley-Green, toured the village and signed the visitors' book.

Dame Dela said: "He wrote that the village was 'inspiring in all ways'."