Yeeuchhhh, yeeuchhhh and triple yeeuchhhhhh! School is to most people what a rare steak is to a gang of veggies. School dinners, school detentions, school teachers (especially old wrinkly science teachers who wouldn't know a bath if it fell on them) are all phrases that can strike terror into even the most fearless young heart.

Still here? You've been very brave indeed to read this far through a review for a package with the word 'school' in the title. You must have a particularly nasty brother with a birthday coming up. If you do, don't - give it to him as a birthday present, that is, because Paint And Create is actually rather good and, yes, fun! The program's all about drawing and using colours and music, it's aimed at primary school kids and is the best-looking Fun School I've seen.

The first section is an interactive intro. It's a picture spread over four screens. You move a pointer around the screen using a joystick. When it's over something interesting, you press Fire and the name of that object appears in big, bold letters. Besides making a child familiar with the words for everyday objects, it also helps them get used to using a computer.

The best program on the tape has to be Make A Monster. Set on a great-looking red planet, it involves creating your own Bride of Frankenstein. The more horrible the creature gets, the more a little chap in the corner of the screen grimaces. You choose from various body parts and put them anywhere you fancy on your chosen torso. Bellies with mouths and two-headed monsters work really well.

Though Paint And Create is very fab without a printer, you'll get much more fun from the package if you have one connected. Both Card Creator and Art Alive both have printing options; Creator, it has to be admitted, is a bit of a waste of time when you can't print out the results. Art Alive, a line drawing program, is nothing compared to Advanced Art Studio, but it does its job without being too complicated for a five-year old to master.

Jigsaw's all about matching colours and shapes. There's one piece on the board when you start while the other pieces are stored on another screen. You toggle between the two to pick up and place the pieces.

The most whacky educational program I've ever seen must be Music Maestro. You're given an empty stage which you can fill with up to three musicians. The way it works sounds a bit complex, but the screen is arranged so that it's a piece of iced marble cake for any young whippersnapper to create top tunes. There are five instruments from which to choose, each coming with its own particular decapitated body. Then you have to select a teddy head to put on that body - the five heads available all have different personalities and so play differently from one another. Each head can play three riffs on each instrument so there are plenty of combinations.

Once you're satisfied with your tune, you can release it as a single then see how well it does in the charts on the Top of the Teds TV program. If that can't keep a hyperactive six-year old quiet for a few minutes, I don't know what can.

Paint And Create is the best package I have had the pleasure to be educated by. I feel fully confident to hit the art critics with I my interpretation of Dali's melting clocks now. By the way, the Commodore Format Tip Toppers made it all the way to the number one spot with I Could Kill An Egg For Breakfast.

1. It looks brilliant.
2. For once the 'fun' in the title isn't an exaggeration.
3. Dead simple to use - a child could easily be left unsupervised.
4. It's worth buying for Make A Monster alone.

1. Limited if you haven't got a printer.