04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Young coders gather at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor for competition
The annual Code Club UK competition, hosted by the Dolgellau campus, saw budding programmers from Ysgol Bro Idris sites compete to develop the best original game.
Ninety enthusiastic learners from Dolgellau, Dinas Mawddwy, Rhydymain, Friog, and Llanelltyd one of the winners of the Code Club UK competition, holding the tablet he won as a prize with staff from Ysgol Bro Idris and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor (Image: Supplied)
The event celebrated the conclusion of a year-long effort by IT students, who ran Code Clubs at Ysgol Bro Idris, teaching basic programming skills.
Throughout the academic year, Level 3 Information Technology students at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor taught 96 Year 5 and 6 pupils how to create their own games and activities.
The competition allowed these children to put their newly acquired skills to the test by creating an original game using Scratch programmers focused on developing their own games (Image: Supplied)
They had to think about backdrops, characters, sounds, how points would be awarded or deducted, and how the game could be won.
Games were judged on creativity and originality, technical proficiency, gameplay, and user experience.
The winners were Brandon and Ollie from the Dolgellau site, who took first place, followed by Prideaux and Macs from Llanelltyd in second, Celyn from Friog in third, and Isaac, also from Friog, in one of the winners of the Code Club UK competition, holding the tablet she won as a prize with staff from Ysgol Bro Idris and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor (Image: Supplied)
The winners were awarded tablets to help them continue to develop their coding skills.
Sioned William, IT Level 2 and 3 course coordinator at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said: "Code Clubs are an excellent opportunity to develop sought-after skills and to foster an interest in coding from a young age, which is high on the agenda for development at primary schools.
"Also, they are a fantastic opportunity for our learners to use their skills and work with the local from across Dolgellau, Dinas Mawddwy, Rhydymain, Friog, and Llanelltyd showcased their skills (Image: Supplied)
"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."
Level 3 student Sam Stocks said: "I really enjoyed being a part of Code Club this year.
"The experience taught me a lot about how I can help others, and how passionate children can be about things they enjoy."(Image: Supplied)
Fellow student Pawel Lenort added: "It's been a great experience for me as it helped me be more confident in coding, and I enjoyed helping pupils with their games."
Code Club is a nationwide initiative that promotes digital literacy and skills for future generations.
They aim to empower young people to use computing technologies to shape the world.
