SCHOOLCHILDREN have been enjoying field trips around the world and even into outer space - all without leaving their classroom.

Pupils at Rudyard Kipling Primary School in Brighton found themselves in Antarctica, went diving off Fiji and paid a visit to the Mayan Ruins in Mexico.

There was also a special trip into space where they were able to get a glimpse of the Earth below.

The travelling was made possible through the use of virtual reality goggles linked to a computer system called Google Expeditions.

Year 5 teacher Nick Grimshaw used the computer system to act as a guide, leading the explorers through collections of 360° and 3D images while pointing out interesting sights along the way.

Mr Grimshaw said: “It was brilliant. The children absolutely loved it. There were loads of gasps and “wows” as they saw all these different views.

“They really got immersed in it all and it gave them a great understanding.

“Basically I would use the computer and link them to the images and then tell them to follow the arrows and look left and right.

“With Antarctica I was able to guide them to a giant glacier and when in space they turned a bit and then the Earth came into view.

“When we went diving off Fiji they could also see a whale shark and a tiger shark. The pupils would be looking at the rocks and water and then I would tell them to turn slowly and then they would see the shark.”

Mrs Grimshaw said the students at the school in Chalkland Rise, Woodingdean, really responded to what they saw and when asked to write poems afterwards were very creative.

The school has a policy of going deep into the topics they are studying such as visiting a Greek restaurant when studying Greece and decorating the classroom and using ice blocks to represent the Antarctic.

He said: “This just takes us even further and the possibilities are endless.”

The visit was just a one off arranged with Google Expeditions and Rudyard Kipling is thought to be the first school in Sussex to try out the system.

Mr Grimshaw said: “We were very lucky and privileged to get the visit from Google and we would really love to do it again.”

Pupils from years 3,4,5 and 6 were all given a chance to try out the goggles during the day-long visit.