Sheffield pupils sent back in time during virtual reality workshop

The Key Stage 2 pupils from Grenoside Community Primary School were transported back in time thanks to a unique virtual reality (VR) workshop organised by the Grenoside Parent-Teacher Association shortly before the February half term.

Delivered by virtual reality company Prime VR, the sessions allowed children to visit the Stone Age and Ancient Egypt, both topics which they are learning in lessons.

They were funded by a Sheffield Council Ward Pot Grant which is available to voluntary, community, self-help groups and projects that want to make a difference in their community and which contribute to at least one of the ward priorities – children and young people being one of the priorities in the school’s ward of West Ecclesfield.

Coun Alan Hooper, representative for West Ecclesfield, helped organise the funding. He said: “It was like an educational school trip but without having to leave the classroom. It allowed children to experience places like no video, picture or computer could ever capture.

“The VR headsets give a sense of awe and wonder, which really helped them get them excited about the topics. I am delighted that, through the Sheffield Council Ward Pot funding, the workshop was made possible.”

Virtual Reality, or VR, has become globally recognised as an educational tool which allows students the opportunity to experience certain places of the world, different periods in history, inside the human body and even the Solar System.

The Year 3 and 4 children experienced what life was like 12,000 years ago, learning about what foods they ate and the types of clothes they wore, while Year 5 and 6 students visited the banks of the Nile to see the pyramids and Pharaoh’s Tomb.

Year 4 teacher Jenni Monach, thanked the PTA and the council for the support, adding: “We know that experiencing something first-hand can’t be beaten but this is not always feasible especially events from the past, which is why VR is so special. It brought history to life and was a fantastic learning tool for our children.”