KIDS CRACK CODING CLUB
A collection of young coding masters have given their thumbs up to a programme designed to excite them about careers in technology. 0Gravity was launched in January by Sunderland Software Centre based global software solutions company Saggezza, providing an opportunity for local eight to 11-year olds to learn more about coding. Twelve young people completed the programme, honing their tech skills every Monday evening, and will now make way for the next cohort of young coders, who will begin their 10-week programme in September. The idea for the group came from a similar coding club set up in India by 14-year old Krish Samtani. It was designed to give underprivileged young people in the country the chance to gain new skills. The tech company decided to launch a similar club in Sunderland, with volunteers from the company giving their time to work with the young people who signed up. In total, the children have coded eight Minecraft games, including the Hungry Games, Flappy Blocks and High Noon Saloon. In addition to learning about Java using drag and drop coding, they have also been learning some of the key terms used by developers in the industry. Martin Williams, Saggezza’s UK managing director, said: “The young people who took part in the programme have really progressed – some of them have even started coding independently with little support from our team, which is just fantastic to see and shows how engaged they are. “We have tested their knowledge along the way, so we do know that they are taking in the information we are giving them. “And we really do hope it inspires them to pursue a tech career in the future.”