Stratford school pupils get to grips with University’s hi-tech facilities

Pupils from the Shottery girls’ grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon were given a taste of the new teaching and technology facilities at Coventry University’s Engineering and Computing building last week.

Around 30 girls from the school’s year nine class were invited by the University’s Department of Computing to visit the £55 million building on the city centre campus to get to grips with its state-of-the-art ICT equipment.

Academics in computing were on hand to show the Shottery pupils around the facility, before they were set a series of challenges to encourage them to think about computers and their uses in a new way.

The girls tried their hand at creating objects in a 3D virtual environment using the latest games development software, and were then given the opportunity to examine a range of computer hardware up close – including the revolutionary Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized computer designed to inspire young programmers.

Year nine Shottery pupil Jasmine, who took part in the visit, said:

What we did was really fun and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day, whilst learning a lot at the same time. It really opened our eyes to how great ICT could be, and more of us are encouraged to take a GCSE in it.

Madeline Cheah, teaching assistant in computing at Coventry University, said:

It was fantastic to welcome the pupils from Shottery to our department and show them some of the cutting-edge technologies that are at our own students’ disposal.

These girls might go on to become the computer scientists of tomorrow, so it’s important that they have the chance to explore and experiment with the latest hardware and software as often as possible. I hope their visit to our new facility here in Coventry will inspire them to continue studies in this area when they leave school.

The two institutions are keen to continue the relationship, with a year eleven visit to the University scheduled for the autumn and activities planned to take place at Shottery over summer.

Coventry University’s new Engineering and Computing building opened its doors to students in September, and is set to have its formal opening ceremony early in February.

For further information, please contact Alex Roache, external press and media relations officer, Coventry University, on +44 (0)24 7679 5050 or email alex.roache@coventry.ac.uk.