A last ditch emergency fundraising campaign for two local schools has generated £40,000 in just two weeks.

Preston and Westfield schools are in the process of jointly applying for Special School Status (SSS), but the fundraising element hit a snag.

Apart from producing a solid application, the schools must also raise £100,000 in private sponsorship by deadline day, which is today (Friday).

Two weeks ago the 180-page application was making steady progress but the fundraising campaign was £40,000 short of the target.

MP David Laws and the Mayor of Yeovil, Councillor Bridget Dollard, who is the school nurse at Preston, joined forces to urge local companies to come forward.

David Laws said two weeks ago: "The schools have put a huge amount of work into their bids and it would be a great shame if these bids cannot be put forward due to a lack of sponsorship."

The appeal for help worked. On Wednesday Tom Dunbar (head of lower school at Westfield) confirmed that the required £40,000 had been raised or pledged.

He stressed, however, that the two schools were only halfway towards success as it was now a matter of competing against other schools and their bids for accreditation.

Mr Dunbar revealed that about 20 companies came forward to make donations of various sizes, which was boosted by contributions from parents and other donors.

"We are very grateful," he said.

* Preston and Westfield have opted to try and get SSS status in business and enterprise, science, maths and technology.

The SSS programme aims to, for example; extend the range of opportunities available to pupils; raise the standard of teaching and learning; improve teacher recruitment; create a more flexible curriculum.

The SSS programme is administered by the Department for Education and Skills and offers a one-off £100,000 grant as well as £123 per pupil per year for successful applicants.

Buckler's Mead School already holds SSS status.