Schools compete to crack the code
There was
fierce concentration and lively discussion in one of our computer labs
today as 14 teams of students from local secondary schools took part
in a coding contest.
They had come along to participate in the first Cambridge Coding Competition, which was run in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Cambridge and supported by Raspberry Pi.
"It was challenging but fun," said Dhruv, a student at Impington Village College. Lewis, a pupil at King's Ely, agreed. "I like a puzzle, so I found it fun tackling the challenges that were harder to work out."
The Cambridge Coding Competition is taking place for the first time this year. Student teams were competing to win a trophy named after the late Francis Hookham, a long-standing member of the Rotary Club of Cambridge who had had a lifelong fascination with technology, especially computers.
The competition was deliberately aimed at Year 8 children to help enthuse them about the possibilities of computer science.
I like a puzzle, so I found it fun tackling the challenges that were harder to work out.
Professor Tim
Jones (above right with two students from the Netherhall
School) was organising the competition within the Department.
"Computer science is a really exciting subject," he says, "because of
the potential for new ideas to come along and change things almost
overnight. This competition is a chance for pupils to see the breadth
of the subject – and we hope to spark their interest in it before they
get to the point of making subject choices that will send them in one
direction or another."
In addition to Tim, we had other researchers here – including PhD student Chelsea Edmonds (left, with children from North Cambridge Academy) – working with the students and helping them along with advice and tips, so that they weren't on their own.
Eight local schools took part in the event: King's Ely, Impington Village College, the Netherhall School, North Cambridge Academy, the Perse School, Sawston Village College, Soham Village College (main picture) and St Faith's.
"I
hope you've all had lots of fun today," Tim Jones told the students as
they gathered together in a lecture theatre at the end of the
event. "I went round the Lab today talking to you all and I
really enjoyed seeing you solving the challenges and hearing you
telling me how you were doing so."
Certificates were given to all the students that took part today. And then the Francis Hookham Trophy was awarded to the winning team.
Congratulations to Lara, Jenny, Dylan and Ryan (right), a team of students from St Faith's.
Presenting it to the winners, Jenny Chapman-Hay – President of the Rotary Club of Cambridge – said was a great shame it was that Francis Hookham didn't live to see the event.
But given his interest in computers, "holding this competition in his memory seemed just the right thing to do," she said.