The world is full of willing people,” said the poet Robert Frost, “some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.” The same, fortunately, is true of the world wide web, where a few good souls have gone to the trouble of hunting down the best sites - saving the rest of us from the hassle of having to do it for ourselves.

Pupils and staff at Hanborough Manor CE school in the Cotswolds, for instance, have compiled what they modestly describe as “The Ultimate Set of Primary School Bookmarks” - a collection of links to sites they’ve found useful. It takes a minimum of effort to visit Hanborough’s website but, once you’re there, you’ll only be a mouse-click away from teaching materials covering most areas of the English curriculum.

Commercial providers offer a similar service, but on a grander scale. Sites such as clickteaching, Schoolzone, and Learn.co.uk not only have a wide range of approved sites to choose from, but also an in-built search engine to help you pinpoint those that exactly meet your needs. Simply type in the topic and the age of your pupils and, hey presto, you have a selection of links to sites which you know have been given the thumbs-up by teachers, education consultants, national curriculum gurus and other reliable types.

Other providers allow you to access high-quality teaching materials - but only at a price. RM, for example, is happy for you to use its Pathways for Learning without charge but if you want to plunder the Living Library, it will cost you a minimum of pound;90 a year. For that you can take your pick from an enormous selection of worksheets, study aids, encyclopedias, e-texts, software products, sound files, video clips, 10,000 photographs, newspapers and all the resources you could possibly need to survive a day’s teaching - except for a stick of chalk and a jar of Nescafe.

Some of the most valuable sites that you find will deal with topics that are far more important than anything in the national curriculum. For example classes should be introduced to Bullying.co.uk, Childline, or NCH’s itsnotyourfault.org (for children caught up in the trauma of their parents’

divorce). Even a fleeting visit is enough to alert pupils to the existence of these sites - which some may then choose to revisit privately on their home PC. Indeed, the single most important reason for using the Net in the classroom is to help pupils make the most of the time they will spend surfing on their own. So it’s crucial that they are made aware of the dangers they might encounter. The most sensible way to do so is have them follow the Internet Proficiency Scheme devised by BECTA specifically for junior pupils. The teacher’s pack, available free of charge, contains helpful guidelines, exercises, games, quizzes and photocopiable certificates.

Until they become familiar with the ways of the WWW, younger children will probably learn more - and have more fun - in the cosier environment of one of the growing number of intranets designed specifically for them. These are a cross between a virtual youth club and a schoolroom, offering pre-teens all the excitement of being online while restricting their explorations to a mediated selection of educational resources. These generally include games and reference libraries, child-friendly forums, e-mail facilities and chat rooms where a moderator can wag a digital finger if the discussion takes an unsavoury turn. Support materials explain to parents and teachers how the various activities help children to learn.

Some, like Einsteinonline and Primary Zone, charge for the service; but the marvellous GridClub stays in business thanks to funding from the DFES and so doesn’t cost a penny. It hosts 180 special interest areas that cover everything from rock music to rock climbing. Here children can learn more about their hobbies and use e-mail to get in touch with pupils in other schools who share their particular enthusiasms. What makes the club a godsend to teachers is the selection of high-quality multimedia activities. They’re fun to play, and at the same time help to reinforce the 10 subjects in the national curriculum at key stage 2. If you know that among the games which support learning in maths there is an adventure called Radius of the Lost Arc, you’ll get the general idea. With its ingenious blend of fun and learning, GridClub deserves a place of honour in any teacher’s Ultimate Set of Primary School Bookmarks.

Websites mentioned in this article:

* Hanborough Manor: http:atschool.eduweb.co.ukmanorlhfavour.html

* www.clickteaching.co.uk

* www.schoolzone.co.uk

* www.learn.co.uk

* http:livlib.eduweb.co.uk

* www.bullying.co.uk

* www.childline.co.uk

* www.itsnotyourfault.org

* www. becta.org.uk

* www.einsteinonline.co.uk

* http:www.primary-zone. comlogin.jsp

* www.gridclub.com