UCL volunteers help Camden introduce programming clubs in all primary schools

From September, the London Borough of Camden will be the first local authority in England to introduce computer programming clubs in all of its 41 maintained primary schools, with help from volunteers from UCL and Google. Working in partnership with Code Club - the not for profit organisation responsible for establishing a national network of 900 volunteer-led, after-school coding clubs - Camden Council is hoping to give the children in the borough an early opportunity to develop the creativity and skills necessary to succeed at school and in the future jobs market. Google and UCL will be providing volunteers for the scheme. Expert developers from Google and students from UCL's Faculty of Engineering Sciences will run the after-school coding clubs for the children. The initiative provides a unique opportunity for pupils in Camden's primary schools to learn to code from a global leader in the technology business and a world renowned higher education institution, and also allows their teachers to establish strong cross sector relationships and to harness the support of volunteers based in the local area. Cllr Theo Blackwell, of Camden Council, said: "Last year there were no pupils in Camden's schools taking computing at A-level. As in other local authorities, pupils have been put off by a boring ICT curriculum and a failure to make coding relevant and exciting.