EVERY state school in Southampton will be connected to the Internet by early next year, city education chiefs have pledged.

With links already set up at primary schools, city officials are now beginning to equip secondaries with remaining funds from a £500,000 government scheme.

And they are confident of meeting on-line targets under which 75 per cent of teachers and 50 per cent of pupils will have their own e-mail addresses by 2002.

A council spokesman said that teach-ers were receiving Internet training tied in with the National Grid for Learning programme.

He said: "All our schools will be connected by Christmas or at the very latest, April. We are optimistic and pleased at the way things have gone.

"We have taken a more structured approach to this than some other authorities and feel we are ahead of the game."

Funding from the NGL has already helped 91 Southampton schools go on-line, including nurseries and special schools.

The push to equip the remaining secondaries comes as the city's approach to the Internet gained praise in a nationwide survey.

The NOP research group questioned nearly 4,000 children at more than 40 schools throughout the UK.

It found that Southampton schools were on average more likely than others to offer learning through the Internet, while 79 per cent of city youngsters claimed the Internet helped them with their homework.

Officials at Hampshire and Isle of Wight education authorities said all their schools either had Internet access or were in the process of being connected.

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