UK teachers lead Europe in tech use

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The UK's teachers are the most internet-savvy in Europe, according to the European Commission.

In UK schools, 96 per cent of teachers have used computers as teaching tools in the last year and 21 per cent have been using PCs in half of their lessons.

A report from the EC said: "British teachers are very frequent and intensive ICT users." The report also found that 73 per cent of UK schools have a website, 65 per cent have a LAN, 63 per cent an intranet and more than 80 per cent have an external IT maintenance contract.

Not all of Europe can boast such high levels of ICT use in education. One third of Europe's schools don't have a high speed internet connection.

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The UK fares slightly better than the European average with around 75 per cent of schools opting for broadband connectivity - making it 13th out of 27 countries examined by the European Union.

Rural schools are less likely to get the best technology compared to their urban counterparts, though: 81 per cent of schools in highly populated places have broadband, compared to 69 per cent in less densely populated areas.