SCHOOLCHILDREN are being given the chance to win a pond worth thousands of pounds.

Paddock Farm, near Darlington, is offering schools in County Durham and North Yorkshire the opportunity to win the pond worth up to £5,000.

The pond could be used for water features, plants and shrubs as well as fish.

Schools must submit a three to five minute video presentation on why they would like a pond, what it would look like and include and how pupils at their school would benefit from it.

There will be five finalists each from County Durham and North Yorkshire with a winner to be chosen from both areas on February 28 at a local ceremony for parents and school representatives. Dean DiMarco, chairman of the Yorkshire Koi Society, will assist with the judging process while landscape gardeners JD Landscapes and Vaughan-Watson will install the ponds in County Durham and North Yorkshire respectively.

James Lane, marketing manager of Paddock Farm, said: "We are looking for genuine care and passion in the video entries. We want to know what the pupils would like to put into their pond, how they would look after it and how the whole school could get involved."

Paddock Farm is keen to re-visit the winning schools in a year's time to see how the children have developed the ponds and what their long term plans are.

The deadline for entries is Monday, February 21. For more information call: 01325-378286 or visit www.paddockfarm.co.uk.