Year 4 students from Oakley Vale Primary School were invited to Brooke Weston Academy to attend Design Technology taster lessons to introduce them to what studying technology looks like at BWA.

Design Technology teacher Gareth Van Wyk, who guided the students through the process of using coding to program micro:bits and Edison Robots, led the sessions. Students were able to get hands-on experience when they unlocked the Edison Robots capabilities through simple barcode programs, allowing them to work through several activities, which included: clap controlled driving; avoiding obstacles; following a torchlight; line tracking and sumo wrestling.

Mr Van Wyk said, ‘The visit was a great opportunity to bridge the divide between KS2 and KS3. In the lesson I used micro:bits and Edison robots to do some coding. These devices allow teachers and students to simulate real life applications such as driverless cars and robot vacuum cleaners. Students also did some basic block coding applying principles of logic. Students were very engaged, and the sessions were definitely a success.’