West Town Lane Academy’s Code Club recently visited Bristol’s tech hub, Engine Shed to see some real-world applications of coding in startup companies based in the city.
Opposable Games’ Ground Shatter and YellowDog, Interactive Scientific and Aptcore, all from Engine Shed tenant’s SETsquared Bristol, will be demonstrating the variety of applications for technology and coding.
Matthew Cave, Assistant Head at the academy, who has been running a Code Club at the school for almost two years, said: “Visiting Engine Shed is an amazing opportunity for our Code Club pupils to see where their interest in tech and coding can take them. Having the opportunity to speak to people at the forefront of new technology opens their eyes to possibilities and puts their learning in context. At school we’re preparing children for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet, and this experience gives them a sense of what is cutting-edge at the moment, and hopefully will inspire them into being our future entrepreneurs.”
Code Clubs give children the skills, confidence and opportunity to learn about programming and shape their worlds. The clubs are designed for children aged nine to 11 years and there are already 25 clubs running in primary schools across the city. Volunteers are needed to get another 10 established. Over the next three years, Bristol City Council wants to set up Code Clubs in every primary school in the city.
The council’s Cities of Service initiative, which works to encourage more local people to volunteer, is driving forward the Code Club initiative in Bristol primary schools while High Tech Bristol and Bath is delivering DigiLocal, as part of it education, skills and diversity special interest group in community centres across the city.
Dominic Murphy, Chief Service officer for Cities of Service, said: “Volunteering at a Code Club is a great opportunity to help inspire a new generation. Volunteers will meet new people and also learn alongside the children as they build games, animations and websites.
“As well as teaching children how to programme computers, children will learn systematic thinking, problem solving, planning, design and collaboration. We want children to leave Code Club inspired to pursue other digital making activities. Who knows, we might even find the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg here in Bristol.”