THE Daily Echo today gives schools across the South the opportunity to share in a book bonanza.

Your school could win a huge stock of new books in the Daily Echo's £5,000 Books for Schools Challenge sponsored by Posh Windows and Conservatories.

Starting today and running until June 16, we will be printing a daily Books for Schools token in the Echo, plus bonus tokens in our Education Today supplement every Monday.

We have divided the schools in our circulation area into five categories based on the number of pupils.

By collecting the most tokens in your category - and family and friends can help out too - your school will win £1,000 worth of new books.

Tokens must be handed in to a designated representative at the school and sent to the Echo. The enve-lopes, or the sacks, should enclose the following details: name, ad-dress and telephone number of the school, number of pupils, contact name and number of tokens collected in total. Daily Echo editor Ian Murray said: "Books remain the most vital material for schools, despite the influence of new technology.

"It is a real shame that schools should have to have help in stocking their libraries and classrooms - but that's life. We at the Echo are delighted to be able to do our bit."

Stewart McCulloch, owner and managing director of Posh Windows and Conservatories, said: "We're more than happy to be involved in such a community project.

"We are a local company which does business in the community and we're happy to be giving some of that goodwill back."

RULES: The Books for Schools Challenge is open to all pre-school, primary, junior and secondary schools in our circulation area.

Only one entry per school. Individual entries by pupils will not be accepted. Photocopies of tokens are not accepted, newspaper cuttings only.

The Daily Echo will count all tokens to verify figures. £1,000 worth of books will be allocated to the winning school of each of the following categories: 1) up to 150 pupils, 2) 151 - 400 pupils, 3) 401 - 800 pupils, 4) 801 - 1,200 pupils, 5) 1,201 pupils upwards. The closing date for entries is Wednesday, June 23, 1999.

Entries should be forwarded to: Books for Schools, Southern Daily Echo, Test Lane, Redbridge, Southampton, SO16 9JX.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.