The highest individual cost is more than £37,000.

Laura Brewis, from We Make Culture whichin Sunderland, said a music city status could help attract funding and show "you don't have to leave in order to become a musician".

"For young people who are trying to make a career in music, I think Sunderland can still feel quite far away from the centre of where music is," Ms Brewis said."It can still feel like you have to go to London, or Manchester, or somewhere like that."She added young people were "really excited" about the music city project.

"I think the idea that something big is happening is really exciting for them."Mr Francis said there were hopes that if Sunderland officially got a music city status, it could join even bigger networks.

"It feels like there's a real change in the atmosphere in Sunderland, something's happening in Sunderland and I think the potential of a city like Sunderland is incredible, really."

Plans to turn a "semi-derelict" seaside shelter into a coastal wildlife viewing station have been approved.The tests are similar to

, but individual pupils results will not be published in Northern Ireland.In a statement, Givan said that the tests would be introduced in the 2025/26 school year for a three-year period and would stop Northern Ireland being an "outlier."

"Literacy and numeracy are the essential foundation of all education," he said."Northern Ireland is currently without any measures of how our system is performing in both these areas at primary school and Key Stage 3."