James pins his hopes on kids
St Catherine’s Primary welcomes Paisley inventor with open arms
One of Paisley’s brightest Buddies has gone back to his roots to inspire the next generation of mathematicians.
James Goodfellow OBE is credited worldwide as the man who invented the personal identification number (PIN).
On a mission to urge mini Buddies to follow in his footsteps, the 80 year-old visited his former primary school to chat all things maths and science.
Delighted to have a famous alumni back in the classroom last week, St Catherine’s Primary School headteacher Emma Henry told the Express James’ visit went down a storm.
“It was just wonderful having James back at St Catherine’s,” Emma said.
“He was so good with the children and they loved quizzing him on his career.”
At just 29, James came up with the idea for a secret PIN as a way to link a customer with their bank account in 1966.
While working for Hillingtonbased firm Kelvin Hughes, James then filed paperwork for the device on May 2 that year.
His interest in electronics was sparked after leaving the town’s St Mirin’s Academy in the early 1950s.
Not forgetting his roots, James gives due credit to his primary school teachers.
“I attended St Catherine’s in the forties when it was on Canal Street,” he told the Express. “My time there was excellent. “You got a really good grounding there in reading, writing and arithmetic.
“It stood me in really good stead for the future.”
Now living in Thornly Park. the proud Buddie made quite the impression on the youngsters.
“At St Catherine’s our school motto is ‘Attain, Achieve, Aspire’,” Emma added.
“Showing the pupils what St Catherine’s children can go on to achieve through James is amazing.”
James’ special visit was part of a whole week of STEM- related activities for the whole school.
The game-changer gave a whole school assembly where he was interviewed by primary four pupil, Abbie Scott.
Keen kids from each year group then talked about what career path they would like to take in the future.
Praising the STEM related initiatives, James thinks more should be done to encourage all pupils to pursue careers like his.
“S c i e n c e, technology, engineering and maths is really important,” James added.
“I think it’s great to see pupils being urged to take up these subjects and make careers from them.
“Good grounding is so important and you definitely get that at St Catherine’s.”