Schoolchildren transported from Brighton to Brazil with virtual reality

The 140 children from Moulsecoomb Primary School, Bevendean Primary School and Hertford Infant School, were transported on a journey across Paris, Mont Blanc, a Dutch meadow, a South East Asian desert island and finally to Rio de Janeiro

The day, organised by Brighton digital agency Propellernet and the Trust for Developing Communities, also saw students take part in a workshop with Minecraft experts BlockBuilders and a flight on the i360.

The idea of the lesson was to use cutting edge technology with nature to bring the curriculum to life in an interactive way in a bid to expose pupils to places they wouldn’t be able to see in a typical school day.

The schools were picked because they are considered to be in 'disadvantaged areas', and council research shows that one in three children in the city currently live in poverty.

Nikki Gatenby, managing director of Propellernet, said: “With so many children in need in Brighton, we wanted to spread our company ethos of ‘make life better’ and offer the students a unique experience through technology. We’re lucky to have such a thriving digital industry in Brighton and are hoping to inspire stars of the future.’

“It’s also shocking to hear anecdotal evidence that there are many children living in Brighton that have never been to the seaside before, so we wanted to try and change that, giving children the opportunity explore both this magical city, and further afield.”