Coding club comes to Stow! #BridgingTheDigitalDivide

The Scottish Borders Community of Stow has benefited from a Borders College-run coding club, led by College STEM lecturer Mark Catto in Stow Primary School.

The class was offered to the local community, with an uptake of 20, and included primary pupils from P4 upwards and parents.

The course is aimed at teaching the basics of coding, with the objective of raising awareness of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and in particular the discipline of coding.

Using ‘Fable Robot Kits’, Mark introduced the basics of coding in a fun, informative and hands-on way, with the participants coding and programming the Fable Robots to undertake a number of practical tasks.

Mark commented:

“It was a fantastic event introducing coding to the primary school students up to, and including, parents. The participants really took to the challenges and adapted very well to the tasks presented to them. The feedback from the students has been very positive, with a lot commenting how they would like to learn more about coding and the robots. Special thanks to Leonie Cairns for her support during the event.”

Curriculum Learning Manager at Borders College, Jimmy Louth, said:

“This programme is part of the Borders College Outreach project, which aims to develop the digital skills of schoolchildren across the Borders. This is a pilot taster event and from this we can gauge further interest of bringing robotics to the Borders primary schools.”