A SCHOOL came together for a fitting tribute to two of its former students killed while serving in the Armed Forces.

The Last Post echoed around the memorial garden of Darlington's Wyvern Academy when headteacher Mo Wilkinson sounded her trumpet as part of the school's Remembrance Day celebrations.

A ceremony was given added poignancy as the family of Flight Lieutenant Steven Johnson – his sister Sharon and mother Ann – laid a wreathe in memory of the former student who was killed in 2006 when his Nimrod reconnaissance plane crashed in Afghanistan.

The school also paid a silent tribute to another student, Private John King, 19, who was killed in Afghanistan serving his country.

War poems were read out by students as part of a special assembly where history teacher and former RAF pilot Luke McVitie also spoke passionately.

“They joined up to make their parents proud and to protect this country,” he said. “These brave people sacrificed themselves so we could be here having our wonderful lives, in a world made better and less evil, where students can become the best people they can possibly be.”

In attendance were MP Jenny Chapman, the mayor Jan Taylor, Council Leader Councillor Bill Dixon and the Royal British Legion’s Ken Coates.