Auditor Change / Teacher's TV

Ten Alps PLC 28 October 2005 For immediate release 28 October 2005 Ten Alps Plc Change of Auditors; First Report on Teachers' TV TV company Ten Alps Plc ('Ten Alps') announces a change of auditor to Grant Thornton and the first report by the independent board of governors on the Teachers' TV channel. 1) AUDITORS Ten Alps has engaged Grant Thornton UK LLP as its new auditors. They will immediately commence work on the group's interim results to September 30, 2005, which are due to be released in early December. A precise date for the results release and an accompanying analysts' briefing will be made available nearer to the time. The board of Ten Alps would like to thank previous auditors Bright, Grahame, Murray, for their work over the past four years since the flotation of the company by reverse takeover - and indeed for their work on the accounts of Osprey Communications PLC before that. 2) TEACHERS' TV REPORT The independent board of governors, appointed by the Department for Education and Skills to supervise the Teachers' TV channel, which is managed by a company 70%-owned by Ten Alps subsidiary Brook Lapping, has issued its first report on the channel's performance. The governors' press release for that report is copied below. Their full report can be downloaded by visiting the governors' website, www.ttvboard.org, and going to the Annual report section. Teachers' TV secures 21 per cent digital audience reach in first six months In its first Interim Report to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, published today, the Teachers' TV Board of Governors announced that, based on independent research, the new digital channel Teachers' TV has achieved an audience reach of 21 per cent of school staff who have cable or satellite. Members of the schools workforce (teachers, assistants, heads and governors) watch about 540,000 Teachers' TV programmes on television each month and in addition over 55,000 programmes are downloaded or viewed via the channel's website, www.teachers.tv. The channel has been watched by between three and six per cent of all digital viewers in the UK, depending on their digital platform. The figures show that every month an estimated 280,000 people are watching Teachers' TV programmes. The Teachers' TV Board of Governors is an independent public body that upholds the editorial independence of Teachers' TV and monitors the performance of the channel supplier, Education Digital (a consortium which includes Brook Lapping Productions, ITV and the Institute of Education). Commenting, Sir Paul Judge, Chair of the Teachers' TV Board of Governors, said: 'We are delighted to be able to publish this report which provides solid research information illustrating that Teachers' TV has had a positive impact on those in schools. Since the channel launched in February, we have received very positive feedback from teachers, assistants, parents, governors and many others interested in education. It is clear that the channel is a welcome addition to the resources available to school staff, not least because it provides these in a very cost effective way'. According to the report, over 700 original programmes have been commissioned and produced by Teachers' TV, including programmes aimed at professional development for school staff, news and topical programmes covering key schools related policy and video resources for use in the classroom. Highlights from the first six months of broadcast include an interview with Tony Blair, election programming featuring education spokespeople from across the political spectrum, the 'Big Behaviour' debate chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby, and the 'Ted Wragg meets...' series with guests including David Bell, Chief Inspector of Schools. The Interim report was based on national research completed by independent market research company, Ipsos UK, between February and July 2005. Additional findings include: * Of the school staff watching for five minutes, 69 per cent on Sky and Cable and 67 per cent on Freeview go on to watch for at least 30 minutes in the month. This means that every month 58,000 individuals watch the equivalent of at least two programmes on the channel. * A core of around 25,000 school workforce viewers watch at least four programmes per month. * The total television and website viewership by the schools workforce is estimated to be 600,000 programmes per month. With Teachers' TV costing approximately £1.6 million per month, the average cost per viewer, per programme watched is £2.70. This means that Teachers' TV is a highly cost effective way of delivering resources and information to support CPD for the schools workforce. For comparison, it typically costs £300 to take one teacher out of a classroom for a one-day CPD course. Research also found that Teachers' TV had a significant impact on the behaviour, motivation and practice of the schools workforce: + Teachers' TV has encouraged over four in ten viewers to undergo some kind of CPD + Over half of viewers claim that they are likely to implement the content of Teachers' TV programmes in their schools + Eight of ten viewers claim that Teachers' TV programming has affected their personal motivation Teachers' TV press enquiries Kirsten Smart/Natalie Orringe on 020 7400 4480 norringe@mediastrategy.co.uk. www.teachers.tv Ten Alps press enquiries: Jacqui Graves 0207 153 1486 jacqui@binnspr.co.uk www.tenalps.com -ENDS- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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