A SEARCH is on to find a primary school in Northallerton that deserves to win a £1,000 cash award.

The prize is on offer in a competition launched by Woolworths, in association with its own charity, Kids First, and The Northern Echo.

The company is offering the prize to tie in with the opening of its new store in Northallerton High Street, on Friday, at 10am.

To celebrate the occasion, Woolworths is searching for a school to win £1,000 to put towards improving its facilities.

The money could go towards anything from sports equipment to books, or be put towards improving school grounds to make a better educational and play environment.

In addition, four representatives from the winning school will be invited to the store on opening day to join in the party atmosphere.

Their day will begin with a breakfast with the store manager.

Afterwards, they will take part in the opening of the store by cutting a red ribbon, before being presented with a cheque for £1,000.

As well as creating a number of locally recruited jobs, the 14,000sq ft store will be three times larger than the old one.

Entering the competition is simple - just write a letter of no more than 100 words to say why you think your school should be awarded the prize, how you would spend it, how the money would benefit the school's curriculum/leisure facilities and how it would benefit the local community.

The only criteria for winning is that the improvements benefit today's pupils as well as pupils of the future.

Kids First is Woolworths' own independent registered charity and allows employees to get involved in their local communities in ways that benefit children

Entries should be sent to Elena Christodoulou, 30 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1AP or faxed on 0207-898 3405, as soon as possible