Above: Pupils at Dame Allan’s Junior School enjoyed VR-powered Geography Lessons
Junior school pupils at Dame Allan’s Schools travelled across the world from the comfort of their classrooms this half term, with the help of a virtual reality session provided by Prime VR.
Pupils from Years 3 – 6 enjoyed geography workshops linked to relevant areas of study, with pupils either wearing a state-of-the-art VR headset each, or sharing in pairs. The youngest pupils in the cohort, in Year 3, enjoyed a trip around the world, as an intro to their KS2 geography curriculum. After experiencing a ‘visit’ to the different countries and continents, pupils were tasked with identifying them on a map.
Esme, a Year 3 pupil (above) said: “”It was creepy when the gorilla came closer and closer but I enjoyed it!”. Nakai, also in Year 3 added: “I saw a giant turtle swimming in the ocean and every second I looked away it was getting closer…”
Blending in with their current geography studies, Year 4 pupils’ focused on the rainforest, looking at this very special geographical region and the animals that live there.
Similarly, Year 5 discovered different biomes, from the tropics of the Amazon Rainforest to the dry desert of Namibia, to get a sense of how climate, landscape, plants and animals differ across our planet.
The oldest pupils in the session, in Year 6, discovered the wonders of the world. They are currently learning about the Earthshot Prize, and the session helped to illustrate the realities of the world that the prize is aiming to repair.
“The sessions were really special and helped bring our geography curriculum to life.” said Mrs Ellis, Humanities Lead and Year 6 teacher at Dame Allan’s Junior School, who organised the event.
“I think it was especially poignant for pupils to experience the wonders of the natural world from an environmental perspective too. They are the next generation and it really brought home what they would be ‘looking after’ by being greener in their lives and futures.”
Studies were further bolstered after the VR sessions with bespoke quizzes, testing the pupils’ newfound geographical knowledge.
“The VR experience was a perfect way to utilise state-of-the-art tech to bring learning to life,” continued Mrs Ellis. “A great day was had by all!”