A HAMPSHIRE school has joined the stampede to support the arts extravaganza of the year.

Calmore Junior School is galloping to the aid of Marwell’s Zany Zebras, a family-friendly trail that will lead through Southampton for ten weeks in the summer.

Dozens of sculptures are set to go on display as people flock to sponsor life-sized zebras that will be dotted around the city centre.

The school has bought one of the £500 blank zebras and pupils are in the process of painting on a design devised by classmate pupil Jamie Drinkwater.

Deputy head teacher Cathy Ingram said: “It’s a coloured patchwork, with all the patches coming together to represent the Calmore school family.

“The children are really excited about the project. They’ve done research into zebras and we’ve had people over from Marwell to do workshops.

“Pupils can’t wait to view all the other designs. It will be a really proud moment for them when they see theirs in Southampton.”

The Daily Echo-backed project has been devised by the same team behind the hugely successful Go! Rhinos event of 2013, but Marwell’s Zany Zebras promises to be even bigger.