Norwich School Blog

Mr Jenkins writes about Techathon 2018

Mr Jenkins, Head of Digital Learning, writes about the Techathon 2018 hosted at Norwich School and 'Step into Tech'.  

The second 'Step Into Tech' Techathon was hosted at Norwich School over a two day period at the end of the Easter Holidays. Eighty children, aged between 8-18, signed up for the two-day hackathon. Pupils were challenged to make, hack, reverse engineer, build robots and construct prototype solutions. 

The challenges had very open specifications and the teams of four all embraced a theme in a unique way; using a variety of tech platforms and software ranging from Scratch block editor solutions to Microsoft Artificial Intelligence picture recognition software. 

Over thirty industry experts, 'techy' parents and volunteers were on hand to help the teams to problem solve and learn new skills. After much adjudicating, the final day was rounded off with a presentation and prize giving. 

Step into Tech is a social enterprise to help children reach their full tech potential, bringing together parents, educators, employers and tech specialists.

The Techathon successfully inspired the participants to see their potential and to see how ideas can be made into reality. Claire Risborough (mother of James Livesey L5), chief organiser and Step into Tech founder, is already considering potential future iterations of this event. Many thanks to all who contributed to the event being such a successful opportunity for participants  to Step into Tech. 

Photographs by Mr A Jenkins - Head of Digital Learning