Code club building skills for AI generation

An educational charity is hoping to demystify technology for children by teaching them coding in an "age of artificial intelligence".

The Raspberry Pi Foundation, based in Cambridge, hosted a special code club session as part of EU Code Week which invites primary school pupils to explore hands-on digital projects.

It aimed to give every child the opportunity to "understand and shape" the technology that surrounded them.

Philip Colligan, chief executive of the foundation, said it was vital for children to understand "what's behind that screen" as AI becomes embedded in everyday life.

"Children are surrounded by technology, but to many it feels magical. We want them to understand what's behind the black box," said Mr Colligan.

"All of us are on the end of decisions made for us by machines and its really important kids can understand how those decisions are being made so they can advocate for their own rights have some power and agency.

"We want to make sure all young people, no matter their background, have the opportunity to learn about technology and the role it plays in their lives," he added.

Mr Colligan, who was awarded a CBE for services to engineering and technology for societal impact, said his passion for digital education began more than a decade ago when he saw the world through the eyes of his young children.

He said while AI systems could generate code, they still needed skilled human programmers to control the systems and make sure what they produced was safe, ethical, and relevant.

The foundation runs more than 2,000 free code clubs across the UK, including 200 in the East of England.

It offered hundreds of step-by-step projects to help children learn coding, build websites, develop digital skills and understand how the technology works.

Dips Thompson, learning manager at the foundation and a code club mentor, said the sessions were influenced by what young people wanted to learn.

"It gives me a lot of fulfilment," she told BBC Look East.

"I love watching young people discover what they're capable of, seeing their confidence grow and their ideas come to life is really rewarding."

Ms Thompson added that the clubs also helped children develop wider life skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.