RURAL pupils are missing out because their schools are among those with the poorest internet connections.

Pupils in more than half of all UK state schools have poor access to ICT and computers, said the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA).

Many of these schools are in rural areas, it warned in a report.

Village primary schools are among those that suffer most because many secondary schools are located in towns, which generally have faster broadband.

Poor wireless (Wi-Fi) provision was also cited as a major problem in many schools.

Some 65% of primary schools and 54% of secondary schools consider themselves under-resourced in Wi-Fi connectivity, according to the study.

A significant number of surveyed schools also reported that they were under-resourced in broadband provision (42% of primary schools and 31% of secondary schools).

The BESA report is called Digital Divide in Schools: a Location Analysis.

BESA director Caroline Wright said the survey results were worrying because British teachers were world-leaders in the use of educational-technology in the classroom.

"It is of great concern that pupils are being denied access to innovative and effective digital learning because of poor internet connectivity in more than half of the UK's schools.

"In today's digital society, classroom connectivity to an online world of knowledge and resources should be a right for every student in their place of learning and not a lottery."

The findings are drawn from survey questionnaires of ICT co-ordinators at 727 primary and 498 secondary schools across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

On average, more than one third of all computers in English schools are expected to be tablets by the end of 2016, says the study.

But low levels are expected in rural schools in areas such as Cornwall, Norfolk, Staffordshire and Herefordshire, it adds.

BESA has made its research available to the Department for Education and the government's appointed Education Technology Action Group (ETAG)

The ETAG group had been tasked with looking at the future needs for educational technology in English schools, it said.

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

The full study can be downloaded here.