London schools trialling VR to relieve pupils’ stress

Schools have begun deploying virtual reality to help pupils cope with stress caused by impending exams, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or difficult home lives. All 15 secondary schools in the London borough of Sutton are using VR headsets made by tech firm Phase Space in a pilot in conjunction with the local NHS mental health trust. Pupils access the seven-minute-long Phase Space VR programme either in a prearranged slot or when they need to leave a lesson because they have become beset by anxiety. Young people find that immersing themselves in VR, even for such a short period of time, helps them calm down, rebuild their confidence and feel ready to resume their studies. Phase Space has been designed to help “overwhelmed and anxious students”, said Zillah Watson, a co-creator of the programme, who is a former head of VR at the BBC. Aelisha Needham, the vice-principal for ethics at the Ark Academy secondary school in north London, which is also using the headsets, said it did so mainly with pupils with social, emotional or mental health problems who have ADHD or anxiety. “We mostly use it in the mornings,” she said. “We have students who in the mornings feel quite deregulated, especially when we have changes to their usual structures … [such as] a cover teacher, or it might be that they have felt a little bit distressed from something at home, or they maybe haven’t had breakfast, or they’re having friendship issues or haven’t done their homework. …