Children at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary in Margate have been plotting a way to land on the moon.
The space exploration was part of a special coding adventure for pupils in Year 1 to year 4 after the school secured a fully funded place on the Get With The Program educational initiative.
It was an interactive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) experience that introduced pupils to the teamwork, problem-solving skills and wide range of careers behind the Moon landing.
The project is fully funded by the Department for Transport and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, with the aim of inspiring future engineers, coders and innovators.
Each class watched an engaging video show before taking part in hands-on activities tailored to their age group.
Years 3 and 4 explored coding by working on Scratch (a beginner-friendly, block-based visual programming language), learning how to navigate a web browser, edit sprites (a 2D image or animation that’s layered onto a larger scene, acting as a movable, independent element), and backgrounds, as well as animating their own creations.
Reflecting on the experience, pupil Albie said: “I liked finding out how to code,” while Lily-Mae added: “I enjoyed it, it was fun.”
Meanwhile, Years 1 and 2 learned about the different jobs linked to space exploration and enjoyed discussing and choosing which role they would most like to do in the future.
Key Stage 1 Leader is teacher Rachel Farawi. She said: “Experiences like this are incredibly important for our pupils as they bring learning to life beyond the classroom and help children see how subjects like computing, science and maths link to real-world careers.”
*Get With The Program partners with schools and businesses to deliver exciting tech learning events for students. Its mission is to inspire today’s students to become the tech innovators of the future. Go online to www.getwiththeprogram.org.uk
AI has destroyed any potential coding jobs