A PRIMARY school in north Durham is hoping to educate the surrounding community about climate change.

The Grove Primary School, near Consett, has invited people, local schools and businesses to attend an open event tomorrow.

Teacher Alan Scarr said: "The children have been working extremely hard to prepare for their open afternoon.

"They are looking forward to sharing the lessons they have learned about climate change adaptation and working together with the local community to combat the impacts of extreme weather."

It is being held as part of the ‘Adaptation Challenge’ set up by the Climate Change Schools Project, which is based at Durham University.

The aim is to raise awareness of the changing weather patterns and how to adapt to them and will be used to officially open the school’s community allotment garden.

Pupils will also hold a special sun protection campaign using sun strips that change colour to indicate when sun cream needs to be applied.

They will be decorating sun hats to protect themselves from projected heat waves and rising summer temperatures.

Posters, leaflets and magnets illustrating the importance of climate change adaptation have been produced to inform visitors about the kinds of changes that we can expect to see in the North-East.

The school children have also developed a questionnaire, which will be used to find out if local businesses are prepared for future extreme weather.

Climate Change Schools project manager Dr Krista McKinzey said: "The simple creative measures that schools are taking to ensure that their students, buildings and surrounding environment can cope with a changing climate, inspires others to address similar issues."