Many young people are using 'proxy servers' to get round their schools' internet security systems. The free services offer instant access to banned websites, including online games and social networking. Figures suggest the use of proxies has risen sharply in recent years. Security experts are warning that pupils who log on put themselves at risk of cyber crime.
It sounds like an obscure, techy area of computing that only geeks would know about. But when we asked pupils in one secondary school classroom who had heard of proxy servers, every hand went up.

These 'secret tunnels' to the internet are a way of life for teenagers across the UK.

As schools employ increasingly sophisticated software to stop them accessing 'non-educational' websites, the proxies offer a quick, easy way to bypass those restrictions.