PRIMARY school children have been immersing themselves in student life, experiencing the latest hi-tech learning tools which transported them back through history.
Fifty one pupils from Reid Street Primary School, Darlington, used Darlington College’s immersive room to experience the virtual eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in Italy, which engulfed ancient Pompeii in volcanic ash in 79AD.
The Year 3s were also taken on a whistle stop tour of the Egyptian pyramids and a South American rainforest.
Darlington College staff took the children on a tour of the robotics lab, construction bays, hair and beauty suites and the automotive department in an initiative designed to inspire them through further education.
In a separate workshop the seven and eight-year-olds designed an app which could be used in the immersive room, which projects images onto the walls and floor to immerse students in their learning.
Darlington College’s events and engagement manager Ross Lowcock said: “It is never too soon to start thinking about education after your school days are over and the children seemed to be inspired by their visit as they saw the opportunities that lay ahead of them.”
Reid Street Primary School teacher Rebecca Brown added: “The children's visit to the college was truly inspirational. They had their eyes opened to the number of exciting career options available and were left buzzing with ideas of what they would like to do in the future.
“They thoroughly enjoyed visiting the immersive room, which felt like stepping into a different world – exploring the beauty of the rainforest, the amazement of how a pyramid was constructed and the exploding volcano in Pompeii, which did make some children jump with excitement.”