SCHOOLS across the county have entered their bids for a facelift in an Oxford Mail competition.

But there is still time to put your school in the running for £7,500 of building work.

We have teamed up with Abingdon-based Leadbitter Group to offer the prize – and entries are flying in.

Jo Coady, the Oxford Mail’s promotion manager, said the prize could be used on all sorts of projects.

She added: “It could be for things like a new toilet block or a bike shed.

“Simple but important things, which will make a real difference to the school.”

Angie Renshaw, headteacher of Berinsfield Primary School, said that if her school won the money, it could be used to build a chicken coop and a fence around the school’s new allotments.

She said: “My site manager has recently built some allotments and we would like to use the money to protect them from vandalism.

“The children have also been fundraising for a while and have bought enough money for an incubator for chicken eggs.

“A new coop for the hatched chickens would also be great.”

Mabel Prichard School, in Cuddesdon Way, in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, is a special school for children with severe learning difficulties.

Headteacher Jane Wallington said it needed an outside gazebo for pupils.

She said: “We would benefit from a permanent gazebo to shade the children as they play outside in the hot weather.

“A number of the children are in wheelchairs and cannot move out in the sun if they get too hot.

“A gazebo would ensure they can enjoy being outside at the same time as being safe from sunburn.”

The deadline for the entries has been put back a week and the competition will now close on Monday, May 17.

The Oxford Mail and Leadbitter will then pick 10 finalists and the race will be on for the schools to collect as many SOS vouchers as possible, which will be printed daily in the Oxford Mail, to secure the prize.

To enter for the free makeover, fill in the attached form and send to Schools SOS Campaign, Oxford Mail, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0EJ.

If you would like to tell us about the project your school is entering in the competition, email awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk