Pupils in more than half of all UK state schools have poor access to ICT and computers, with rural areas of Devon being identified as one of worst affected regions, according to research released this week by the British Educational Suppliers Association.

Poor wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi) provision was cited as a major problem in many schools with 65 per cent of primary schools and 54 per cent of secondary schools considering themselves under-resourced in terms of Wi-Fi provision.

A significant minority of schools also reported they were under-resourced in broadband provision (42 per cent of primary schools and 31 per cent of secondary schools surveyed).

The 17th annual Information and Com-munication Technology in UK State Schools report flags findings drawn from a survey of ICT co-ordinators at 727 primary and 498 secondary schools across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A second BESA report 'The Digital Divide, Preliminary Findings', analyses data from the ICT in state school report and BESA's 'Tablets and Connectivity' survey issued earlier this year.

The reports highlight what appears to be emerging evidence of an urban-rural divide in ICT connectivity in UK schools.

Findings suggest that the majority of rural schools are only a fifth of the way to their ideal level of Wi-Fi connectivity and broadband provision.

Many of these same schools also report poor availability of Wi-Fi connectivity and low levels of tablet adoption.

Caroline Wright, BESA director, said, 'There appears to be an emerging tendency for rural schools to restrict their adoption of new mobile technologies because of connectivity issues in the classroom.

'It is of concern that children in rural schools may be denied access to the latest innovative digital education learning content because of a mismatch in broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity, as the findings of our research imply. In a 21st century online economy, classroom connectivity to a digital world of knowledge and resources should be a right for every student in their place of learning and not a regional lottery.'

BESA has made its research available to the Department for Education and the Government appointed Education Technology Action Group (ETAG) which has been asked to look at the future needs for educational technology in English schools.

Key findings from the report will also be shared with the Department for Culture Media and Sport and Treasury joint consultation on Digital Communications Infrastructure.

Ms Wright added, 'More research is needed to examine this issue further, as these findings are only evidence of an outline trend.

'However BESA urges the Government to consider these findings and take speedy action to ensure that every child has the opportunity to benefit from an education that harnesses the power of educational technology.

'It is vital that we equip today's children with the digital skills they need to achieve success in our 21st century knowledge economy.'