A TREND-SETTING primary school is to expand its use of computer games in the classroom, as more schools in Redbridge say they too want to take up the technology.

Oakdale Juniors in South Woodford made history last year when staff began using handheld games machines to make maths lessons more exciting.

And now the scheme has proved so successful that teachers are hoping to use other games to teach a range of further subjects, including English and foreign languages.

Meanwhile, staff at St Peter and Paul’s Catholic Primary in Gordon Road, Ilford, who were inspired by Oakdale’s use of the technology, have now decided to use handheld consoles on a permanent basis.

Other schools in Redbridge, such as Nightingale Juniors in South Woodford, are also considering introducing the games to classrooms.

The next game on the cards for Oakdale’s pupils is PC-based game adventure game Myst. Staff hope it will help inspire pupils’ creativity, by encouraging them to come up with their own magical worlds, characters and stories.

Dawn Hallybone, one the teachers who has helped pioneer the scheme at Oakdale, said: “In games like Myst the art and imagination is amazing and we want children to be inspired and motivated by that in their writing.

“There’s also Professor Layton's Curious Village, which is a puzzle-based game. You can play it in groups of six so it helps encourage team work, as well as logical thinking. There’s so many uses for these games.”

Michael Corcoran, deputy headteacher and ICT co-ordinator at St Peter and Paul’s, said his school were also looking to use the technology more.

He said: “Of course it’s hard to put improving results and attainment down just to the DS machines alone because there’s some very good teaching going on, but they certainly have an impact just upon the sheer enjoyment of learning, which is so important at primary level."

Both schools say they the technology will be used to complement traditional teaching methods, rather than replace them outright.

The news comes following Oakdale's Ofsted report last month, which praised the school for its use of video games.

It said: “When lessons capture pupils' interest they show impressive powers of concentration and perseverance.

“This was evident in an outstanding mathematics lesson that used innovative technology to promote mental calculation. Pupils particularly relished the challenge to 'beat the teacher'.”