A GROUP of students could be about to make their virtual dreams a reality.

Youngsters from Bolton School’s boys division are involved in an international competition based on new technology — including Virtual Reality and 360 films.

Under the guidance of academic deputy Nic Ford, the boys have created a VR tour of their school building and could be in line to win the Viar360 contest — despite only starting to learn about the new technology this term.

Mr Ford said, who teaches at the senior boys school in Chorley New Road, explained why VR and 360 films had been brought into his classroom.

He said: “Virtual reality and 360 films are an exciting and growing area of technology that lets the user step into the environment and be a part of it, rather than just watch it.

“In a 360 film you can look in every direction and see everything, and in VR you can choose and interact with the environment.

“All this is viewed through a headset. We have started looking at the use of this in lessons, and have recently taken Year Seven to explore Roman ruins, Year Eight explored the Amazon rainforest and Year Nine stepped into the human circulatory system — all virtually of course.”

He added: “I think VR and 360 film making are really powerful learning tools, and both are set to be large industries in the very near future.

"I wanted the boys at Bolton School to not only experience the best of the content that already exists, but also learn how to create 360 and VR content. We therefore have a 360/VR film club that is really popular, and runs every Wednesday lunchtime, and we are looking at creating our own content.”

The team put the virtual tour together using a Ricoh Theta 360 camera, which they used to take a selection of photos and video.

Mr Ford said: “The original purpose was to look at shot selection, choosing the right locations that would create a good experience for people who might want a glimpse inside the school.

“I edited the tour together using Viarbox software, having edited photos and video with the boys beforehand.”

Impressed with the results, Mr Ford and his students decided to enter the international Viar 360 competition, where there are weekly heats, with winners going through to the grand final.

After making the final of one of the heats, the group will now find out if they have made it to the final with their tour project.

To view the virtual reality tour, go to contest.viar360.com and click on Nic Ford.