CHILDREN from across Dorset will be able to take part in the first dedicated coding day later this year.

Dorset Coding Day is an event for children in years five, six and seven and aims to inspire a future generation in the footsteps of Bill Gates and Ada Lovelace.

Events will be held virtually on Thursday, September 15, as part of the wider National Coding Week, and will be Dorset’s first ever live and interactive coding day.

Dorset Council is working in partnership with BCP Council and Barclays Digital Eagles to host the event.

Coding is a form of computer programming with children beginning to learn about it in KS2 as in order to develop their understanding of computing.

Councillor Jill Haynes, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Corporate Development and Transformation, said: “We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Barclays Digital Eagles and BCP Council to host the first ever Dorset Coding Day.

“We hope to see schools across the county sign up to this exciting event, which aims to inspire their pupils about coding and encourage them to explore the opportunities digital can offer.

“It’s our vision to make the county a digital place and to achieve that it’s crucial we encourage our young people to work in digital industries and to do that here in Dorset.”

Kevin Garner, Barclays Head of Code Playground, added: “We’re delighted to be supporting Dorset Coding Day. Events like this can equip young people with new digital skills and give schools the opportunity to introduce pupils to the exciting world of coding.”

Since the beginning of 2021, more than 25,000 primary school pupils have joined the Barclays Digital Eagles’ monthly Code Playground sessions.

Dorset Coding Day will run two sessions covering computer programming topics included in the key stage two and three curriculums.

The online sessions will enable schools to join in virtually from across the county with as many as people being encouraged to take part.

IT specialists from local tech companies can also be part of Dorset Coding Day. They are invited to attend a school in-person to talk to the pupils and share their own experiences of using coding in their careers.

Schools and IT specialists that would like to sign up to the Dorset Coding Day can register their interest by emailing digitaldorset@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk