PUPILS at Worcestershire schools may soon be having lessons from teachers around the UK thanks to a new internet service.

The new £3m BT service, installed for the county council, will eventually link all of the area's schools and libraries both to the internet and to each other.

The first phase of the project, which will connect 30 secondary schools and 22 libraries, is almost complete.

A second phase will begin soon, adding a further 260 primary and special schools throughout the county.

The system uses broadband connections that allow large amounts of material to be pulled off the internet quickly.

This enables schools to make use of new developments in education, such as remote teaching.

It involves pupils from different schools and in their own classrooms, being taught simultaneously on their PCs by teachers elsewhere in the country.

Local teachers will also be able to draw on videos and other information accessed from the net for use in lessons.

"It's a first for the West Midlands and a real contribution to the quality of children's learning across all our schools," said Julien Kramer, Worcestershire's director of education.

Elgar High School in Bilford Road, was one such school to receive the new internet link.

"One of the main advantages is the increased speed with which we can download from the net," said headmaster Graham Watts.

This development is particularly important to the school, as it was given Technical College status last month.

The school will fully become a Technical College in September, this year, specialising in design, technology and computing.

Mr Watts agreed the new system would have a massive impact on the school because of the ease of access to the internet for both staff and pupils.

"All of the ideas for distance learning are in the future, but the future is coming fast," Mr Watts said.