Code Club is a nationwide volunteer led after school initiative designed to get 9-11 year olds interested in computer programming. Its mission is to give every child in the UK the chance to learn to code with a goal of having a code club set up in 25% of primary schools by the end of 2015.
Clubs are set up and run by professionals who give up an hour of their time per week to teach children in a classroom environment. There is always a teacher present so the volunteer is there to concentrate on delivering projects and teaching the basic concepts of programming. Currently the projects start off using Scratch before moving onto HTML, CSS & Python.
There are currently over 2,600 registered clubs in the UK but a special push is being made to get professionals from Salford involved in volunteering with Salford University and Council working together to start up clubs in local primary schools.
Initiatives like Code Club are a fantastic way of getting the next generation of programmers excited about developing software and web applications and need the support of local communities to succeed. If your interested in volunteering or supporting Code Club in anyway, get in contact here.
Richard is a designer, whiskey drinker, music lover and Creative Director. After an early career in publishing saw him oversee the production of a range of global titles he turned his eye to digital, managing several design teams in UK agencies before founding Gather with fellow director Paul.