Parents of kids playing hookey in Yorkshire are to be told their little darlings are skipping school - by text.

A trial in the East Riding of Yorkshire will enable schools to broadcast texts from a PC to parents informing them of all the latest info from school.

Text alerts could be about class closures or up-and-coming school events. But the 'edutxt' service could also be used for teachers to tell parents that their kids haven't shown up at school.

Those behind the trial reckon the service could help reduce the workload for those people running schools. And they say that schools have the choice of paying for the texts themselves, or getting parents to pay.

Other 'edutxt' services currently being considered include a scheme for pupils to use text chat and SMS messages to learn together in different school subjects.

Oh, and another idea is an idea to send a series of 'revision tips' to youngsters studying for exams. ®