Young coders compete to create the best game
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor hosted a competition for primary school children to test the skills they have learned with the help of the college’s IT students
Young coding enthusiasts from Dolgellau created original games in a competition at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor.
The competition was a chance for Year 5 and 6 children to test skills they have developed with help from the college’s IT students.
Students on the Level 3 Information Technology course at the Dolgellau campus have been running Code Clubs throughout the year at the Ysgol Bro Idris confederation of schools.
They have taught basic coding skills to 87 youngsters, who use what they have learned to create games and fun activities.
The culmination of the project is the competition at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s Dolgellau campus, where pupils are tasked to come up with an original game, to code it and create it using the Scratch software.
They have to consider backdrops, characters, sounds, how points will be awarded (or deducted) and how the game can be won.
Games are judged on creativity and originality, technical proficiency, gameplay and user experience - with each competitor in the first, second and third-placed pairings winning a tablet to take home with them.
The winners of this year’s competition were:
- 1st place: Cynan and Erin, Safle Dinas Mawddwy
- 2nd: Jini and Cadi, Safle Dolgellau
- 3rd: Cadi and Iago, Safle Rhydymain
Sioned William, ICT L2 & L3 Course Coordinator at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said: “This is the first year post-Covid-19 that Code Clubs have been running again at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor.
“They are an excellent opportunity to develop sought-after coding skills and to foster an interest in coding from a young age, which is high on the agenda for development at primary schools.
“But also, it is a fantastic opportunity for our learners to use their skills and work with the local community. Most of our learners are nervous to begin with, but once they have done the first session they thoroughly enjoy it and note it as one of their highlights of the course!”
Haydn, one of the Level 3 students, said: “It was cool to see how most of the kids understood how to code quickly and enjoyed the sessions.”
Micah said: “It was an interesting experience, I feel like it benefited the children. It was a good opportunity for the kids, and for us to get out of the classroom and use our skills.”
Code Club is a nationwide initiative supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which promotes digital literacy and high-end skills for future generations. Their aim is to empower young people to use computing technologies to shape the world.
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