Schools<\/a> are using virtual reality<\/a> to help pupils deal with exam stress<\/a>, ADHD<\/a> or troubled lives at home, according to a report. <\/p>\n VR<\/a> headsets made by Phase Space are being trialled by all 15 secondary schools in the London borough of Sutton<\/a>, to help students struggling with anxiety. <\/p>\n Pupils are provided a seven-minute programme, either prearranged or when they need to leave a lesson as a result of anxious feelings and thoughts. The aim of the programme is to help them calm down, rebuild confidence and prepare them to resume learning, by immersing themselves in VR for a short period of time. <\/p>\n The Phase Space website says it offers \u201cimmediate, effective mental well being support\u201d which helps young people to \u201creduce feelings of anxiety, regulate their emotions and grow in confidence\u201d. <\/p>\n Zillah Watson, a former head of VR at the BBC who co-created the Phase Space programme, said 90 per cent of students who used the headsets in the first 10 schools saw an immediate drop in their stress levels.<\/p>\n She told The Guardian that the programme \u201chas led to improvements in pupil attendance [and] behaviour and reductions in anxiety related to exams and assessments evident\u201d. <\/p>\n Lora Wilson, 16, explained what the programme shows in more detail. <\/p>\n \u201cYou start in a room and it hasn\u2019t got anything in it and the light in the room slowly fades and then you\u2019re almost transported back into black but with light and it\u2019s coming towards you.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to explain but it\u2019s a really cool experience. It almost feels like I\u2019m somewhere else and I can just relax.\u201d<\/p>\n Aelisha Needham, vice-principal for ethics at north London\u2019s Ark Academy secondary school<\/a>, said it is mostly used in the mornings. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have students who in the mornings feel quite deregulated, especially when we have changes to their usual structures \u2026 [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\u2019t had breakfast, or they\u2019re having friendship issues or haven\u2019t done their homework,\u201d she told the paper. <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/813b612ec145b3447e0f7567f9cca302Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzYwNjk5OTY1-2.79933281.jpg\")
The headsets are shown to help reduce anxiety for the children (Ben Birchall\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n![\"Primary](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2040236912.jpg\")
Primary school children try on VR headsets as they speak with a representative of Metaverse Learning (Getty)<\/p>\n