Twelve months on from a successful first round of rural Conwy Coding clubs, a second round I being launched targeting the schools which did not participate in the first round.
The successful trial, which began in December 2018, was a huge hit.
The project aimed to establish a network of coding clubs throughout rural Conwy as well as providing young people with opportunities to develop their coding and computer programming skills, to enable them to compete in an increasingly digital market place.
Working in collaboration with Coleg Meirion Dwyfor to deliver a series of workshops, each school received an initial group training session at either Glasdir Conference Centre or Coleg Llandrillo, followed by three training sessions with coordinator Gwennan Richards at their school.
As part of the project, some schools received Chromebooks in order to carry out the training and to continue with the learning.
The project which was funded through the LEADER programme under the Rural Development Programme for Conwy, Conwy Cynhaliol, saw two pupils from Ysgol Bro Gwydir enter and claim victory at the All Wales Coding Competition, which is held annually in Coleg Meirion Dwyfor in Pwllheli.
Cai Lloyd Spencer and Oliver Egelstaff-Thomas triumphed in the Unit Category, both taking top prizes in the Highly Commended awards.
Mrs Nest Davies, a teacher at Ysgol Bro Gwydir said,
“The whole experience has been amazing, and none of it would have been possible without the training we received through the project”.
Cai and Oliver both said “We will definitely be aiming for the awards again next year and hope we can be even more competitive”.
Meira Woosnam, Rural Enabling Officer for Conwy Cynhaliol explained that the project had been remarkably successful and as a result the offer was being extended to schools that didn’t receive training during the last round. Schools that did not receive the training last time would be prioritised during the latest round.
“It has been great to see so many pupils and staff benefitting from the training and leading the way with the coding clubs. We were especially proud of those who entered the coding competitions – without the training, this would not have been possible!”
A total of 25 staff have received training to date, with over 180 pupils receiving training across eight rural schools.
Gwennan said,
“Coding is an extremely important skill in today’s technological world, and young people need to be developed into digital creators as well as digital consumers. The Rural Conwy Coding Club project has given children in Conwy the opportunity to develop technological skills they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop, and hopefully inspired some of them to consider a career in computing and technology.”
“Grŵp Llandrillo Menai is pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Conwy Council and the county’s schools to promote and develop coding skills amongst the young people of Rural Conwy, and we are looking forward to the next part of the project”