For years children have waited for the school bell to ring so they can rush home to play computer games or chat to their friends online.

But for one Hounslow school playing on a Nintendo Wii, uploading videos to YouTube and catching up with other youngsters their age through the internet has become a regular part of their school day.

Seven classes at Lampton School have been taking part in a “playful learning” initiative, which aims to engage with pupils through alternative teaching methods.

The Lampton Avenue school’s head of citizenship, Juliette Heppell, explained this modern take on teaching began after students won £30,000 in a Feltham City Learning Centre competition to design a classroom of the future.

Their vision was of an environmentally-friendly room complete with laptops, a plasma screen, handheld games consoles – and an astroturf floor.

Although the classroom is yet to be completed, the in-depth research undertaken by pupils – which included analysing scientific reports from experts and Government officials – led to innovative lessons.

Ms Heppell said: “A really big part of their research, and that of students, was they wanted learning to be more playful.

“Some of the staff had a group where as an after-school project they had to work really cohesively as a team.

“So we got them playing Wii Sports on the Nintendo Wii, and working together.”

Students examined how and why they succeeded as a team, and put the knowledge to use in other scenarios.

Ms Heppell added that such exercises were not replacing traditional lessons, but running alongside them.

She said: “If you play any computer game it’s learning a skill.

“You have a hypothesis and then you test it out – and if it does not work then you test it out all over again.

“When do you not do that in any lesson?”

Along with playing computer games, some youngsters with special educational needs have used special sat-nav devices to walk the town’s streets, plotting shapes and calculating their areas – helping them improve their maths knowledge.

Ms Heppell, who believes these new teaching methods will become more common over time, admitted some parents may have been sceptical to begin with but believes the results speak for themselves.

She said: “The students’ confidence in their learning has increased dramatically.

“When you can see your own child being so proud about their work, why would you ever question it?”

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