function load_newslist(start, news_link, tag) {
	 
	 if (news_link == null){
	   news_link = "";
	 }
	
	$.ajax({
	   type: "GET",
	   url: "http://www.miltonkeynesacademy.co.uk/cont_news_list.php",
	   data: "start="+start+"&ajax_loaded=1&n_link="+news_link+"&tag="+tag,
	   cache: true,  
	   success: function(data){
			
			$("#news_list_container").html(data);
			
			//$("#news_list_container").hide("fast").html(data).fadeIn("fast").slideDown("slow");1000);


	   },
	    error: function () {
	    $('#news_list_container').empty(); // remove the loading image 
	    $('#news_list_container').html('<div style="padding:50px 0 50px 0;" class="align-center red">The news list could not be loaded. Please refresh the page and try again</div>');
	  } 
	});
	
	$("#news_list_container").show();
}