Newington Green Primary School has taken the lead in a scheme to bring cutting-edge technology equipment into the classroom.

The Rocket Fund platform, built by innovation foundation Nesta, allows teachers to raise funds for devices they think will have the biggest impact on students’ education at state schools.

Over a period of six weeks Newington Green piloted the scheme, crowd-funding £1,523 to buy seven iPod Touch pocket computers, 10 sets of virtual reality goggles, 10 bluetooth controllers, and some charging stations.

Children were encouraged to ask family and friends to help support the project, while businesses across Islington were approached to get involved in the scheme.

Donna Shah, a computing specialist at the Matthias Road school, said: “We chose the augmented reality and virtual reality equipment so kids across different year groups could gain a deeper understanding of the things they are studying.

“Many of our students may not be able to travel much or go on holiday regularly, but now they can explore new places and situations during the school day.”

As part of the interactive experience, Year 3 students were able to virtually explore buildings in Rome and Year Four spent a lesson “under the sea”. “The equipment has opened up a whole new way of learning and the children have been blown away,” Donna added. “I’ve never had so much ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ in lessons.

“This has had an enormous impact in stimulating their imaginations, and you can even see this in the way that they write about their experiences.