THE public is being invited to see plans for two new schools for Hexham.

It was revealed by Northumberland County Council last week that new buildings will be built for Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Middle School in a £37m scheme.

The plans would see the two schools located on the same site at the high school's current Whetstone Bridge Road base.

Members of the public are now being invited to find out more in an information event planned at the high school on Thursday evening, between 6.30pm and 8pm.

A number of sites had been considered in and around Hexham but the proposed site was deemed as the most suitable.

County council deputy leader, Coun. Wayne Daley, who is also the cabinet member for children's services at the council, said: "I am delighted that we can now present these plans to construct new buildings for two schools at Hexham, which is part of our wider commitment to achieve educational excellence in Northumberland.

"The existing Hexham buildings are ageing and are increasingly unsuitable for providing the quality of education that we want for our children.

"We want to provide a bright future for all young people in Northumberland and, through investments such as this, we can ensure high quality learning environments while providing best value for money."

The plans for the new school form part of Northumberland County Council's proposals to spend £589m on capital programmes in the county over the next three years. Of that sum, a total of £142m was planned for education.

The procurement process for the Hexham schools is due to start soon and it is hoped the buildings will be ready by September 2021.