PUPILS at a specialist business college will look the part when they get a smart new school uniform.

Youngsters at Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College will switch from wearing sweatshirts to blazers from the start of the next school year, in September 2014.

The proposal came from the student council which worked with governors and staff to put the plans in place.

All 600 year seven to ten pupils will get a free blazer, funded from the school budget, to cut the cost of changing outfit for families.

They will also have to wear a white shirt and buy a school tie.

Year 11 pupils will be able to wear the current uniform until they leave school.

Deputy headteacher Tim Pinkney said: “This has been talked about for years and the pupils were at pains to see it happen.

“They want a smart suit, it is the way many schools are going and it fits in with our business and enterprise specialism.

“They work with other businesses and want to look mature when doing so, they are treated as adults here and the ethos is about mutual respect which the new uniform reflects.”