TALKS on how to use an animation festival to improve creativity in schools are under way.

The Creative Parthernships Tees Valley (CPTV), a Government-backed organisation, is in talks with the holders of the Animex animation festival, held in Teesside last week.

Carol Alevroyianni, director of CPTV, which sponsored this year's Animex Festival, said: "Talks are under way for an even bigger involvement by us in 2005."

Ms Alevroyianni had been impressed on the opening day of the event by the number of schools taking part.

Schools that made 15-second animation sequences included Tollesby, Middlesbrough, Hall Garth, Acklam, Haughton Community Sch-ool, Darlington, and Bishopsgarth, Stockton. The cartoons were shown to a packed audience in Middlesbrough.

Ms Alevroyianni said: "You cannot animate without maths and language, and this year's success means we will be looking to get even more involved next year."

Teesside's Animex festival this year held the inaugural Animex International Student Animation Awards. The festival began in 2000 as a one-day conference, but is now a week-long event