Around the world from the comfort of school

HOLME Valley children explored remote parts of the world – and the human body – without leaving their classroom.

Pupils from Upperthong Junior and Infant School explored Greece, Hawaii, jungles, deserts and mountains using state-of-theart technology Google Goggles supplied by the Google Expedition Pioneer Programme.

Older students went back in time to survey key sites in World War Two, including Pearl Harbour in 1941.

Meanwhile children from Brockholes Junior and Infant School toured volcanoes and the surface of Mars.

Other pupils from the Brockholes school explored the human digestive system and the site of the Battle of Hastings as it was in 1066.

Google Goggles allow users to walk around a virtual landscape by walking around a selected room or outdoor space.

Participants can see the virtual world in 360 degrees by turning their heads and rotating their bodies, in the same way a person would do in the real world.

Upperthong headteacher Carolyn Littlewood said: “They absolutely loved it.

“Lots of them have gone home with the intention of getting the app.

“It’s very realistic – one girl actually fell over trying to get down the stairs of a warship!

“It’s a brilliant teaching tool where lots of children can go to places they’d never go to on a school trip.”