STAFFORDSHIRE school pupils taking part in a campaign to reduce underage drinking are being given more time to enter a new competition.

Young people from several schools involved in a county council drive to target teen drinking are being encouraged to put their thinking caps on to challenge their peers' perceptions about alcohol.

After numerous entries have flooded in, the deadline for the competition has been extended until Friday March 7.

The competition invites specific schools across the county to come up with a piece of thought-provoking new media about alcohol.

Young people can use digital photography, video clips, short films, animation, a blog, or even music to explore the issues of alcohol and responsible drinking.

As well as providing a platform for pupils' creative flair entrants will be in the running for a £200 prize for themselves and up to £2,000 for their school.

The competition has been arranged to reward and thank schools that have contributed to Staffordshire County Council's two-year campaign.

Martin Wilcock, Alcohol and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) advisor for Staffordshire County Council, said: "Several schools have proved invaluable in working with the county council on this issue.

"Their input generated initial data on underage drinking which we used to set our target to reduce it by five per cent.

"This is all part of the county council's drive to meet a national Government target.

"If we meet it we'll get more money to roll out the good work already carried out."

The initial two-year programme of work ends next month, making it an apt time to thank pupils.

Martin said: "We wanted to offer a chance to exercise their creative skills, using technologies that they are familiar with and enjoy using.

"Many young people are masters of new media technologies - just look at the huge popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc."

The county council's underage drinking campaign already has a presence on such sites with both a dedicated Facebook and MySpace profile - a deliberate attempt to engage with young people on their own turf.

The criteria for competition entries is deliberately broad.

Young people are asked to create an original, thought-provoking piece of material which deals with the subject of underage drinking.

It could be a short documentary-style film which explores why young people drink, an MP3 track which acts as a cautionary tale about the associated risks, even a YouTube clip that focuses on the social effects of teen boozing.

Martin added: "We're looking for a responsible piece of work which will really make young people think about alcohol and make sensible choices about it.

"We never set out to stamp out every young person ever sampling drink, because it's just not realistic.

"However, we're not looking for entries that simply glorify underage drinking.

"Judges will be looking for innovative uses of technologies and an interesting way to present young people's thoughts and opinions on alcohol."

Students are welcome to prepare their entries during lessons if appropriate, or in their own time.

For more information pupils should log on to www.facebook.com and look up Martin Staffordshire', or www.myspace.com and, under people, look up Mandy Staffordshire.

Alternatively, call 01785 356429 or email drugs+alcohol@staffordshire.gov.