only connect - press - MAY RELEASE

OUT OF SCHOOL STUDENTS GO ON-LINE

Derbyshire's Out of School Tuition Service is turning to technology to provide a groundbreaking on-line teaching service to students who cannot attend school.

A pilot project set up by the county council with on-line learning expert Marshal Anderson and a range of other business partners aims to link up home-tutored students to the Internet.

Initially, eight students and two of the council's tutors will take part in the experiment which - if successful - could be developed into a comprehensive internet-based home tuition system for the whole county. Students taking part will continue to receive home visits from their tutors, but they will also have access to the Internet for on-line tutorials, web-based learning materials and for contact with other students. The project has won the backing of AOL UK, which is providing internet accounts. Other support has come from Belper-based Systems Integrated Research which has developed some of the learning materials, TAG which has offered the use of its on-line learning facility - a virtual classroom - and North Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce which is providing internet-linked training facilities. Commenting on the initiative county education committee Chair Councillor Alan Charles said:

"Youngsters who cannot attend school for a range of reasons can often feel isolated and, with only a few hours home tuition a week, can often fall behind with their studies. This is an exciting development which will provide out-of-school students with a broader range of learning materials and more hours of supervised tuition."

Marshal Anderson added:
"This is a great use of the Internet technology. By using the Internet, students tutored at home can stay in regular touch with their tutors and keep in contact with other out-of-school pupils. We will be monitoring the project closely to assess its educational and social benefits for both students and tutors. If successful, it could be extended to all Derbyshire home-tutored students and could be taken up nationally."