THEY may look like simple cardboard boxes but these clever learning aids are transporting pupils around the world in their lessons.

Year 8 pupils at St Aldhelm's Academy in Poole were among the first in the country to try out the new Google Expedition technology.

It uses cardboard ‘viewers’ which are fitted with magnifying lenses and mobile phones.

The class teacher then downloads the expedition app on her tablet or computer and is able to send synchronised, three-dimensional 360° panoramas to each student’s viewer, pointing out areas of interest in real time and taking them on a journey of discovery.

Frances Timms, a geography teacher at the Herbert Avenue school, said: "It really is amazing. This morning I have taken students to Angel Falls and the busy streets of New Delhi.

"We’ve also stood alongside dinosaurs and been up close to sharks in their natural environment. The students actually feel that they are experiencing these places and when that happens it makes learning even more exciting.”

Pupil Ella Greene, said: "You feel like you are actually in the water, alongside the sharks. It’s amazing. It’s so much better than just looking at pictures in books. You actually feel like you are there."

St Aldhelm’s is one of six schools which form Ambitions Academies Trust (AAT).

The headsets are also being trialled by AAT’s King’s Park Academy in Bournemouth and could eventually be purchased and used by schools across the Trust.

Sian Thomas, executive principal of St Aldhelm’s, said: "We pride ourselves on the excellence of our IT department and are always open to new technology which can help our pupils to learn about the world and science.

"I look forward to hearing their feedback on Google Expedition and also trying one of those headsets myself."