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Wearside stories you might have missed

Durham University Library and Collections The Durham First Folio on display, opened at the page of play The Tempest. The binding of the thick book is missing. It is surrounded by wooden book shelves.Durham University Library and Collections
The Folio is on display until November

A collection of Shakespeare's works, the return of some feathered friends and the first day at a new school.

Here are some Wearside stories you might have missed this week.

Pupils' first day learning 16 miles from school

Entrance sign at Prudhoe Community High School. The background of the photo shows a number of trees.
Youngsters will be bussed from Prudhoe Community High School to Washington

Pupils at a school which had to be shut when the building was found to be unsafe have started lessons at a temporary base about 16 miles (26km) away.

Prudhoe Community High School, in Northumberland, was closed on 17 February for up to nine months due to cracks in its upper floor.

Youngsters will use Sunderland College's Washington Campus for the foreseeable future. They will be bussed from Prudhoe to the site and back again each day.

The school's head teacher, Annmarie Moore, said it had been a "team effort" to get them back to face-to-face learning.

Nature haven in woman's memory to 'change lives'

Supplied Dr Sue Robson smiling next to her daughter, Tina Robson, in a selfie. They both have straight platinum blonde hair. Sue is wearing a scarf and Tina a black jacket. Supplied
Dr Sue Robson's daughter, Tina (right), died in 2020

A new nature reserve in memory of a woman who lost her life to addiction will help to change affected women's lives, her mother has said.

Tina's Haven, near Horden in County Durham, is named after Tina Robson of Sunderland, who died of a drug overdose in 2020, aged 35.

A week of community woodland planting has begun at the National Trust site and a Sycamore Gap sapling will be planted there in the autumn.

Ms Robson's mother, Dr Sue Robson, said she hoped the reserve would "immortalise Tina in a way that actually changes women's lives".

Stolen Shakespeare folio goes on display

Durham University Library and Collections A black and white photograph of two female students studying the Durham First Folio with a Durham University librarian in the 1930s. They are looking at the book and are wearing coats. Their hair is short and curly at the ends. The librarian has short straight hair and is wearing a suit and tie with a waistcoat. He is pointing at the book with his little finger, which has a ring on it.Durham University Library and Collections
Durham's copy of the First Folio is one of 235 which have survived

A copy of Shakespeare's First Folio which was stolen 25 years ago is on display for the first time in more than a decade.

The book was taken from Durham University's Cosin's Library in 1998 and reappeared 10 years later at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C.

It was badly damaged and returned to Durham in 2010. Antiques dealer Raymond Scott, from County Durham, was jailed for eight years the same year for handling the stolen copy, but was cleared of stealing the treasure.

The exhibition, Shakespeare Recovered, is running to 2 November at Palace Green Library in Durham.

Breeding hopes as sand martins return to reserve

Mark Whitelock A sand martin is standing on the edge of a hole leading into a nest on the artificial nesting bank at Washington Wetland Centre in 2024. Another bird is flying into the nest and passing something on to the other. The birds are small and grey with white tummies. Mark Whitelock
Sand martins bred at Washington Wetland Centre for the first time last summer

The first sand martins of the season have returned to a nature reserve.

The migratory birds bred at Washington Wetland Centre for the first time in its history last summer after an artificial nesting bank was introduced in October 2023.

The centre said it was difficult to get an accurate number of successfully fledged sand martins due to their agility and speed, but it thought at least 60 to 100 young birds managed to leave the nests.

The team is now hoping for a second successful breeding season.

Carnival atmosphere promised at World Cup opener

Getty Images England players warm up on the pitch before playing France in 2023. Ten players can be seen running from the touchline with fans in the stand behind them.Getty Images
Hosts England face the United States, Samoa and Australia in their pool games

A carnival atmosphere will be created for the opening match of this summer's Women's Rugby World Cup, councillors in its host city have promised.

England will get the tournament under way in Sunderland on Friday 22 August when they take on the United States of America.

The match will be played at the Stadium of Light, with the local authority revealing plans for 150 flags in the area along with fan zones, fireworks and a parade across the new Wear footbridge which will connect the city centre with the ground.

Councillor Beth Jones, cabinet member for communities, culture and tourism, described it as "a brilliant opportunity to showcase the city".

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