The clock has started ticking for primary schools which want to enter a new competition just launched by the British Ambassador, Veronica Sutherland. Entrants are invited to submit a poster, along with 400 words, to illustrate the impact which their links with a British school has had on them.

Schools which have links with a school in Britain or Northern Ireland are invited to compete for the newly-launched British-Irish Schools Friendship Prize. Any school which has established links with schools across the water or the border under the EU Socrates or Comenius programmes is eligible.

The competition is also open to schools which have developed links informally or through other programmes, such as those established under Co-operation North. Under the two programmes, 140 primary schools have links.

Schools which are linked by football teams or even pen pals will also be eligible. "There are absolutely no restrictions," says Douglas Kerr, of the British Embassy.

An example of one link project under an EU programme involved the Cork School Project Primary School, Ilkley Middle School in West Yorkshire and a Swedish school. Each school wrote and staged an opera under the guidance of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Videos of the operas were produced to demonstrate how different cultures can influence the same project.

The aim of this new competition is to promote educational co-operation and understanding between the two countries, according to Sutherland who launched the competition in Dublin last week.

Application forms are expected to be distributed by the Department of Education and Science, but they can be had directly by writing to the British Embassy, 29 Merrion Road, Dublin 4 - or by faxing (01) 205 3893. Teachers have four weeks in which to complete application forms and send them off to the British Embassy in Dublin before Friday, February 27th. Label your correspondence: British-Irish Schools Friendship Prize.

When entries are complete they should be submitted to the British Embassy, 29 Merrion Road, Dublin 4, by Friday, 1st May. The overall winning school, which will be notified along with the other winners by Friday, May 29th, will receive £300 and a trophy.