DOES your school swimming pool need a bit of TLC?

Are you desperate for some new equipment which could transform the way you teach children their favourite sports?

The Oxford Mail has teamed up with Abingdon construction company Leadbitter for the second year running to offer one lucky primary school up to £7,500 in Olympic-themed improvements or refurbishments.

Organisers are looking for imaginative ways of spending the money to make a real difference to the school – and the wider community – and will pick 10 schools based on their applications.

Then the challenge will be on to collect as many special tokens, printed in the Oxford Mail, as possible, before the winner is crowned.

Oxford Mail newspaper sales manager Margaret Marsh said: “I am really excited to see what different schemes the schools come up with.

“Last year when we sat down with all the applications, it was a really tough choice picking just 10 because the ideas were so inspirational and it was obvious that these were things that could have a genuine impact on children.

“We all know school budgets don’t always cover everything you would like to do in a school – this is a fantastic opportunity to get some money for those extras that you might not otherwise be able to afford.”

Last year, North Kidlington Primary School came out tops in the School Build Save Our Schools contest after pupils collected thousands of tokens, getting a new bird hide.

Because Eynsham Primary School had been neck-and-neck with the school all the way through, Leadbitter decided to offer the school improvements to its swimming pool as well.

Leadbitter regional director Richard Nixon said: “I would like to hear something that is slightly different and has been well-considered by the children submitting it.

“We have been back to see both of the schools we helped last year and everybody is delighted.

“This money can make a real difference.”

The deadline for applications to be returned is Monday, June 14, after which point the finalists will be chosen.

Each school’s scheme will be detailed in the Oxford Mail, with tokens printed each day.

Because not every school is the same size, the tokens will be mathematically weighted according to the number of pupils. So, every token collected really will count.

Applications need to explain the project in detail, outlining its benefits and how it will be sustainable. Projects must not need planning permission or building regulations.

To enter get an entry form in Tuesday's Oxford Mail