A RARE white rhino has been delivered to Kingsley St John’s Primary School as Rhino Mania spreads across the county.

Pupils in the Hollow Lane school are preparing to paint their rhino – one of 105 given to Cheshire West and Chester schools as part of the biggest open-air-art-education projects in the UK this year – which will be displayed with others in a stunning Rhino Mania trail in Chester this summer.

A colourful design created by 10-year-old Eleanor Hurst, depicting the South African flag and jungle and desert scenes of the African and Indian animals’ natural habitats, has been chosen from pupils ideas for painting the school rhino.

Headteacher Ann Griffiths said each class is also planning a range of Rhino Mania activities, including finding out about endangered rhinos in the wild and sketching their two-foot fibreglass model.

Primary schools have received miniature rhinos and education packs endorsed by Cheshire West and Chester education authority, Chester Zoo and Wild in Art.

Rita Waters, chief executive of Chester Renaissance, said: “It is a cross-curricular activity and raises serious thought-provoking issues about conservation, team work and climate change.”