Pupils at a rural Angus primary school have seen a fundraising drive for computer coding equipment rocket “to infinity and beyond”.
An appeal was launched by Sharon Stewart, a P4 teacher and digital leader at Liff Primary, to initially raise £573 to provide an exciting computer science curriculum across the school.
Thanks to a financial boost from the Rocket Fund crowdfunding platform, designed specifically for schools, the target has been reached.
This will allow the school to purchase a range of equipment to enable staff to teach coding and computer science concepts to all ages, from nursery children through to the primary sevens.
The school, which has 114 students aged from three to 12, has invested in iPads over the past few years and have explored coding on the equipment.
It has run a successful code club in the past which will start up again next year, with parental help.
Mrs Stewart said: “We would now like to extend the range of resources we have to teach coding and computer science, beyond the iPads, and introduce some exciting opportunities for children to explore coding concepts in a fun, hands-on and practical way.
“We would also like our youngest learners to have access to coding technology, so are looking to buy a range of equipment to appeal to all ages.
“We are looking to buy a range of physical computing coding equipment to teach coding across all stages of the primary school.
“We have taught programmes on the iPads but are looking to extend our computing curriculum.
“At the moment we are not able to do that.”
The school, which is a cluster primary of Monifieth High School, drew up a wish list of equipment that would enable the pupils to learn valuable skills to build on in the future.
It included two code-a-pillar toys which helps develop skills like sequencing and experimentation and a Wonder Workshop Dash Robot which allows children to learn the foundations of problem solving and computer programming.
Mrs Stewart continued: “We have had a great response from the public and are now trying to get match funding from local tech companies.
“We believe having access to these resources will increase pupil engagement and help further equip children with vital digital skills for the future.”
