Twelve children at Amherst Primary School, aged between nine and eleven, are taking part in an after school coding class run by local digital agency Indulge Media.
Twelve children at Amherst Primary School, aged between nine and eleven, are taking part in an after school coding class run by local digital agency Indulge Media.
The class is part of a UK initiative called ‘Code Club’, a network of free after-school classes, which aims to leverage the knowledge and experience of volunteers and give children the chance to learn computer programming skills not taught on the general curriculum.
Lesson plans and project materials are provided by Code Club and taught by volunteers at an after school club for one hour each week. The projects teach children how to program by showing them how to make computer games, animations and websites. Each term new projects are provided and students progress through a number of levels designed to develop basic skills ranging from programming to web development using HTML and CSS.
There are currently over 1000 Code Clubs operating in the UK but the Amherst Code Club will be the first of its kind in the Channel Islands. The development team at Indulge take it in turns to teach weekly coding classes which began in September at the start of the school year.
Director Russell Isabelle said: “We decided to get involved with Code Club because we believe that by generating interest in the possibilities of computer sciences from an early age, we can inspire the next generation to take an active role in innovation and creating technology instead of simply teaching them how to use it.
“As an employer in the digital industry it is difficult to find local individuals with the skills we require. Although technology plays an increasingly dominant role in modern society, the current ICT curriculum still revolves around basic computer use – there is very little emphasis on how to actually design or create. Coding and programming is behind everything we do on computers and the internet and we think students should be given a taste of what they have the potential to create.
“It is highly rewarding for our team to watch children respond positively and use computers in this way. Code Club is great and we would encourage other creative agencies, who might be able to deliver this opportunity to other schools across the island, to get involved.”
Amherst Primary School Headteacher Tracey Moore thinks the initiative is an ideal way to get the children thinking more deeply about technology at a crucial age. “The response we have had from students has been incredibly positive and it’s great to see them engaging with a new skill outside of the standard curriculum. The Indulge team have been brilliant at engaging with the children and we hope that we will be able to offer more students the same opportunity in years to come.”