A summer camp aimed at teaching young people how to ‘code the future’ took place last week at Elderbank Primary.

The week-long initiative saw 25 youngsters, aged 9-13, take part in a series of activities designed to teach them how to code through the use of a visual coding language called Scratch.

Scratch is used to introduce the concepts of coding using an easy-to-use language where blocks of code are snapped together, taking away the need to learn a complex text based structure.

The young people also got to try out other exciting new technology and gadgets including virtual reality headsets, 3D printing and robotics.

The summer camp forms par t of the council’ s ‘Coding the Future’ programme which sees a variety of council staff volunteer as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) ambassadors and help facilitate coding clubs within local schools and libraries.

The code camp was developed to offer young people with an alternative summer activity – particularly for those more interested in computing, technology and digital.

Council leader Joe Cullinane said: “It was fantastic to see kids as young as nine developing their own computer games through the use of coding – and having so much fun while doing so.

“Our ‘Coding the Future’ programme is all about improving digital literacy here in North Ayrshire with the aim of addressing the digital skills gap that exists in this country. There’s no better way to improve this than by developing our younger generation and equipping them with the necessary skills.

“After all, with the rise and popularity of digital technology, it’s likely that many of our young people will go on to careers in this field – so by giving them this experience now, we’re helping them to get one step ahead.

“Given how quickly spaces were filled on our Summer Code Camp, it’s clear our young people have a huge appetite for this type of learning.” The council’s Libraries Team continue to deliver their award-winning ‘DigiDabble’ programme allowing youngsters to discover digital with robots, coding, animation, 3D printing, gaming and virtual reality.