THE summer holidays will soon be behind us, and the back to school season means back to the books - or the Internet for the three r's - resources, research and reading.

Whether you are a pupil, parent or teacher, sites in the Lake District have a lot to offer.

The Gazette site, 'Thisisthelakedistrict', has a direct link to Schoolsnet with a multitude of options - from the fun to the serious- including a list of the top A-level schools and colleges.

You can check and see how your school measures up nationally.

If your results were not good enough, visit www.a-level.co.uk for a site dedicated to information on each subject and a data base of where and when retakes are available.

One superb educational site that floated to the top of my 'fun student sites' search was www.montageplus.co.uk.

This great site by The British Council, the UK group for enhancing educational, cultural and scientific relations, is a hub of information and activities.

Its CommonLink section, acting as a global link to get people together, features a 'Spirit of Friendship Festival' section in association with Manchester's 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Back on this planet, a Canadian distance education provider, Athabasca University, has chosen the Gazette's web site Features - People of the Lakes section - for a direct link into one of its literature courses.

The university offers degree courses in online and at-home study formats.

Lancaster University's social research project focused on Kendal's belief culture is also linked into our site.

If books are more your thing, Lakeland Books has just published a new website.

It specialises in literature associated with the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, such as walking, climbing and cycling guides, maps, and personalities such as Beatrix Potter and Arthur Ransome.

Lakelandbooks.com offers books and CDs online.

Education news will soon be uploaded weekly on www.thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk and a new Newspaper In Education section will be launched with teaching tools and some virtual fun!