National Scratch Coding finals 2023
Students from around Ireland attended the 13th National Scratch Coding Competition Finals, organised by the Irish Computer Society and Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, in University of Limerick on Wednesday last.
Scratch is a visual programming language that helps children to build key coding skills in a fun and interactive way. The Scratch Coding Competition promotes computing and software development at both primary and secondary school levels and has grown since 2010 alongside the growth in interest in coding.
“The finals are the culmination of many months of work for the participants, their teachers and their families and the end result is very impressive. Their projects are a convergence of science and creativity and allows them to see what coding makes possible,” said Dr Clare McInerney, Education and Public Engagement Manager with Lero.
“There were 280 entries in this year’s competition, a big increase on last year and an excellent gender balance (56% male, 44% female). Forty-five students made it to the finals and the panel of 15 judges were very impressed by the quality and originality of the projects on show,” she said.
WINNERS
Tom Dandoy, a senior student at Ennisytmon CBS, Ennistymon, County Clare won the overall prize with ‘ Spaceship Battles 3’, a computer game he designed and built using Scratch and for which he composed the score.
Themes of this year’s entries included healthy eating, social inclusion, recycling and poetry. Aisling Fitzgerald from Colaiste Muire, Crosshaven, took home the top prize in the first-to-third year category (Alone - A multi-level interactive game), while Mia Doyle of St Vincent’s Secondary, Cork City, County Cork was presented with a Special Scratch Award (sharks1234). Munster winners also included: Milford National School, Castletroy, Co. Limerick (Junior infants to 1st Class Category – ‘Farm Escape’); Daniel O’Sullivan, Milford NS, Castletroy, Co. Limerick (5th Class to 6th Class Category – ‘Splat Man’).
While a Judges’ Award went to Muhammad Qadri, Scoil Ide, Corbally, Co. Limerick (The Emerald Depths); and a Special Scratch Award went to Martin O’Driscoll from Banogue NS, Croom, Co Limerick (Ball Clicker).
Visit Scratch.ie for more information about Scratch and the Scratch competition.