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Golden Valley funds coding workshops for primary schools

Golden Valley is funding tech workshops at local primary schools, helping to inspire children and equip them with essential digital skills.

Starting with children at Rowanfield Junior School and Hester's Way Primary School, close to the planned development in Cheltenham, Jam Coding will deliver workshops, including computer game design, stop motion animation and robotics coding.

A joint venture between Cheltenham Borough Council and developer, HBD, part of Henry Boot, Golden Valley is a £1bn project at the heart of the UK's National Cyber Strategy. Set to be located close to GCHQ in Cheltenham, the development will create more than 1 million sq ft of commercial space and 1,000 homes.

Bringing together various companies, academic institutions and research and development facilities, united by a security focus, Golden Valley will create a thriving community which will serve as an international hub for innovation, research and collaboration.

Jam Coding delivers computing workshops throughout the UK, equipping children as young as five with essential digital skills and inspiring and educating young people. It provides a range of equipment to deliver the sessions, including robotic kits, stop motion cameras and laptops.

Georgina Graham, area director of Jam Coding, said: "It's fantastic to have the backing of Golden Valley to deliver these workshops. This is an important age to inspire children and ensure that they have the right digital skills for the future. It's all about unlocking potential and opportunities for the next generation."

Matt Bellshaw, director and head of region at HBD, said: "We're pleased to be able to fund these brilliant workshops, getting the experts into schools close to Golden Valley to make tech fun, whether with coding, robotics or games.

"The goal is to inspire the pupils and spark an interest in tech, while helping to close the inequities in funding for digital skills. The workshops give the children an opportunity to learn new things and use equipment that they wouldn't otherwise have access to."

Fiona, year 3, said: "It's really fun to work as a team and earn points, building games that are really cool with everybody."

Archie, year 4, said: "I would like to learn more about coding."

Scarlett, year 4, said: "I like that I got to make 2D and 3D games."

Alex, year 5, said: "I love Jam Coding... you make games and work together with your partner and learn more about computers."

Jaiden, year 5, said: "I liked the games and this in my favourite club. I was struggling a lot, but you helped me do it."

HBD, part of Henry Boot, is one of the UK's most well established property developers. Working with a £1.3 billion development pipeline, HBD operates from six UK offices, focusing on industrial and logistics, urban development and residential projects.

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