Young coders gather at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor for competition
Ninety enthusiastic learners from Dolgellau, Dinas Mawddwy, Rhydymain, Friog, and Llanelltyd attended.Ollie, one of the winners of the Code Club UK competition, holding the tablet he won as a prize with staff from Ysgol Bro Idris and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor (Image: Supplied)
The event celebrated the conclusion of a year-long effort by IT students, who ran Code Clubs at Ysgol Bro Idris, teaching basic programming skills.
Throughout the academic year, Level 3 Information Technology students at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor taught 96 Year 5 and 6 pupils how to create their own games and activities.
The competition allowed these children to put their newly acquired skills to the test by creating an original game using Scratch software.Budding programmers focused on developing their own games (Image: Supplied)
They had to think about backdrops, characters, sounds, how points would be awarded or deducted, and how the game could be won.
Games were judged on creativity and originality, technical proficiency, gameplay, and user experience.
The winners were Brandon and Ollie from the Dolgellau site, who took first place, followed by Prideaux and Macs from Llanelltyd in second, Celyn from Friog in third, and Isaac, also from Friog, in fourth.Celyn, one of the winners of the Code Club UK competition, holding the tablet she won as a prize with staff from Ysgol Bro Idris and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor (Image: Supplied)
The winners were awarded tablets to help them continue to develop their coding skills.
Sioned William, IT Level 2 and 3 course coordinator at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said: "Code Clubs are an excellent opportunity to develop sought-after skills and to foster an interest in coding from a young age, which is high on the agenda for development at primary schools.
"Also, they are a fantastic opportunity for our learners to use their skills and work with the local community.Pupils from across Dolgellau, Dinas Mawddwy, Rhydymain, Friog, and Llanelltyd showcased their skills (Image: Supplied)
"Most of our learners are nervous to begin with, but once they have done the first session they thoroughly enjoy it and note it as one of their highlights of the course."
Level 3 student Sam Stocks said: "I really enjoyed being a part of Code Club this year.
"The experience taught me a lot about how I can help others, and how passionate children can be about things they enjoy."(Image: Supplied)
Fellow student Pawel Lenort added: "It's been a great experience for me as it helped me be more confident in coding, and I enjoyed helping pupils with their games."
Code Club is a nationwide initiative that promotes digital literacy and skills for future generations.
They aim to empower young people to use computing technologies to shape the world.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Diversity star makes unlikely cameo in Bonnie Blue's new Channel 4 documentary
One Diversity star made a quick cameo in Bonnie Blue's new Channel 4 documentary in the form of a throwback photo Diversity star Ashley Banjo made an unlikely appearance in Channel 4's new documentary about adult film star Bonnie Blue's life. The adult star became one of the most controversial figures on the internet after encouraging "barely legal" teens to sleep with her in X-rated content she films and profits from, and her content continues to become more and more extreme. A new Channel 4 documentary, titled "1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story", was recently released and has exposed the often lonely reality of earning millions of pounds while being ostracised. During the documentary, dancer Ashley appeared in a form of a photo where he was seen with his arm around a younger Bonnie. The photo appeared while the porn star's mum discussed her passion for dance when she was younger. Ashley's name wasn't mentioned in the segment but the picture was clearly showed her past love of dance. It comes after one Mirror writer claimed 'the new Bonnie Blue documentary may be the worst thing I've ever seen on Channel 4'. Her mum also reminisced about the time Bonnie and her then dance partner won a runners-up trophy in a dancing competition. During the documentary, viewers hear from Bonnie's ex-husband Oliver Davidson for the first time. She revealed it was actually Oliver, or Ollie as he's known to Tia, who encouraged her to move into sex work. "I met Ollie when I was like 14, 15," she explains in the show. "We got married really young. Pretty, quite intimate wedding, nothing crazy, nothing over the top. Then we relocated to Australia shortly afterwards. "Ollie was beyond supportive, he gave me the confidence to do OnlyFans. And it wasn't because he wanted to pimp me out, he just wanted me to be happy and have control of my life. And obviously the money was good as well." Her ex gushed about Bonnie's sex stunts with the public and even said he's proud of her and her work. He said: "She really connects with the fans. "Most people, if they do porn, they seem out of reach. You're never going to meet them. You're never going to be able to film with them. "Whereas Bonnie puts a location online, and then obviously her fans can actually film with her. It's like a defining moment in porn, where she's completely changed the game." In a recent interview, Bonnie explained why things didn't work between the couple. She told the Daily Mail that they broke up some time before she moved back to the UK from Australia in 2024, and that Ollie returned before her. Bonnie also discussed her fears after admitting she last went out by herself six months ago as it is "not that safe". 'I get 100s of death threats a day, so it is not that safe when I walk around," she said. "I say, 'It is going to happen at some point, someone will come and give me stick' and fair play to her, at least they are getting up off their sofa. My worst one is acid, if someone did acid, and I could see some spiteful girl doing that.'
North Wales Live
4 days ago
- North Wales Live
BT 'cut off grieving widow for 16 days and dementia sufferer told to buy an iPhone'
A grieving 70-year-old woman was without a phone line for 16 days after her husband died and a dementia sufferer was told to buy an iPhone in case of power outages, despite not knowing how to use a mobile. The "alarming" examples are among the experiences a digital skills tutor Wendy Cleaver gathered from her students in the Barmouth, Tywyn, and Harlech areas, and who had been customers of phone and broadband provider BT. In another example a retired farmer was said to be paying £355 quarter for a business line when he didn't run a business any more. They have prompted an MP to call for an independent audit of BT's processes when it comes to dealing with elderly and vulnerable customers. BT said it was "committed to supporting our vulnerable customers" but was unable to comment on the cases raised until "further details" are provided. During her community sessions, run through Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor (part of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai) Ms Cleaver helps people get to grips with new technology. She noticed some seemed to be paying higher tariffs often for services they didn't need or understand, or were having issues sorting phone or broadband packages and needed her help. "Many of my students come from the older generation, they didn't grow up with phones and computers, some were vulnerable, widowed, living alone or disabled," she said. "They didn't have the digital skills, knowledge or confidence to move between providers. Many stayed loyal to BT, a recognised name to them, some were afraid of losing their landlines. "The digital switch-over has completely confused a lot and others found it hard to understand the tech-jargon, some didn't understand the Digital Voice system". It is a technology that enables phone calls to be made over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. Ms Cleaver said: "Some were upset and worried about the amount of money they were paying for telecommunications, some seemed to be paying higher rates, whilst others were out of their depth dealing with customer support". 'Overwhelmed with jargon' In one case a pensioner who had lost her husband had contacted BT to tell them his name needed to be removed from the account and hers put on, she claimed. "She had never dealt with the finances or the technical side of things during the marriage, and the conversation with BT resulted in the account being cancelled, leaving her with no phone line for 16 days when she needed it the most, when she was grieving," Ms Cleaver explained. One gentleman had dementia, he and his wife were both over 70. They were moved to Digital Voice about two years ago. "When they said they had no alternative number in case of a power outage they were told to buy an iPhone," she said. "For two years they feared they would be cut off from the world because they didn't know how to make calls on a mobile". One woman with Parkinson's and a Medicare alarm, had been paying between £60-£70 a month for digital devices, Ms Cleaver said. She had asked for a better deal, after seeing Martin Lewis on the TV, but which had resulted in a complex situation which had taken five hours and 46 minutes of call time, with over 32 days to "unravel," Ms Cleaver added. In another case an 89-year-old disabled man with a lifeline pendant was paying on average £109 per month for just one laptop and mobile, Ms Cleaver alleged. Around 30 case studies were raised with Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville-Roberts. The MP said they showed an "alarming yet unsurprising" insight into the problems faced by many elderly and vulnerable BT customers living in south Meirionnydd. "The volume of evidence includes BT's failure to support vulnerable customers according to their needs, a lack of genuine empathy and understanding when dealing with complaints, the apparent mis-selling of products, and significant price discrepancies," she said. "It concerns me, there's no specific call handling process in place to deal with the needs of elderly and vulnerable customers. "From what constituents have told me, there seems to be scant acknowledgement of generational variations in confidence when compelled to switch from familiar technologies to new digital systems. "They tell me of being overwhelmed by jargon-filled selling practices with limited opportunity to clarify and double-check what's being offered to them. Many live on their own or haven't the confidence or knowledge to challenge BT call handlers. 'Out on a limb' "It seems that BT's ineptitude in complaint management is also having an adverse impact on customers' well-being, with many elderly constituents telling me their experiences have left them worrying about their finances. "It should be appreciated that many have little trust in BT as a provider but have remained loyal to the company for fear of losing their home telephone number or lack the skills to switch providers. "The digitisation of our communication networks has left a cohort of the population out on a limb, without sufficient recourse to challenge and question network providers who are seemingly indifferent to the needs of elderly and vulnerable customers. 'Committed to support' "Given the overwhelming nature of these complaints, surely this warrants an independent audit of BT's processes when it comes to dealing with elderly and vulnerable customers. "At every turn, the priorities of profit-making organisations seem to over-ride by default the needs of people who are dependent on the utilities they provide. This must be questioned, especially during the switch-over from analogue to digital telephone lines.''. A BT spokesperson said: 'We're committed to supporting our vulnerable customers and continue to work hard to keep them connected and supported. "We continue to run an extensive awareness campaign highlighting Digital Voice which is part of an industry-wide shift from analogue to digital landlines, this includes community advice sessions providing face to face engagement for customers in Wales. "Working with AbilityNet BT are supporting 7,000 older people and disabled adults to develop their digital skills, confidence and ability to stay safe online. "For our Welsh-speaking customers, we offer a Welsh language service, including dedicated helplines and billing options.' 'Without the information we need to look into these cases individually, we are unable to comment on these, however we welcome the opportunity to look into these if further details can be provided. "We always encourage our customers to inform us of any changes to their circumstances, so we can offer the right level of help and the most appropriate products and services. "Our guides will always try to identify specific needs when engaging with a customer, if a vulnerability is mentioned we'll ask the customer if they want it registered with us."
Graziadaily
6 days ago
- Graziadaily
Who Is Ollie Davidson? Meet Bonnie Blue's Ex-Husband
In the space of a year, Bonnie Blue, whose real name is Tia Billinger, has gone from being an OnlyFans creator to a divisive, controversy-baiting viral phenomenon. At just 26 years old, she became a household name overnight thanks to a series of x-rated publicity stunts, including having sex with more than 1,000 men in 12 hours and sleeping with hundreds of 'barely legal' virgins during Fresher's Week in Australia. She has since been permanently banned from OnlyFans because of her dangerous content. Before she got into this line of work, however, Bonnie lived an ordinary life in Derbyshire. She worked in recruitment sourcing finance assistants and accountants for the NHS. And at the age of 23, she married Ollie Davidson, a boy she met at a party when she was 15, and they moved to Australia's Gold Coast to start their life together. They are currently in the process of getting divorced. So, who is Ollie Davidson? Why are they getting divorced? And what does he make of her newfound fame? Ollie, whose full name is Oliver, works as an estate agent. He met Bonnie when they were teenagers and they got married in a register office service in February 2022. Shortly afterwards, they relocated to Australia together. While Ollie's age has not been confirmed, it's likely he is a similar age to Bonnie and is therefore 26 or 27. No, despite trying to conceive for 18 months before they moved to Australia, Bonnie and Ollie did not have children during their marriage. Bonnie claims that during her time living in Australia she put on weight and lost her dancer's physique, which is one of the reasons she got into online sex work to boost her confidence and make more money. Ollie actively encouraged her but 'didn't pimp [her] out'. Speaking to The Times , Bonnie revealed Ollie has moved back to England and they are currently getting divorced. She insisted that it has nothing to do with her work. 'We just grew apart,' she said. And after he left, she became a 'full-service' escort, having sex for money. Bonnie has since moved back to the UK herself. 'We loved each other, but we weren't in love,' she told the Daily Mail. 'So we separated, but we didn't make it official. Me doing what I've done recently had nothing to do with the relationship breakdown. But, of course, no one will believe me.' Yes, Bonnie's ex-husband features in her Channel 4 documentary, , 1000 Men And Me: The Bonnie Blue Story , which came out on 29 July. 'Ollie was beyond supportive, he gave me the confidence to do OnlyFans,' she explains. 'And it wasn't because he wanted to pimp me out, he just wanted me to be happy and have control of my life. And obviously the money was good as well.' Ollie admitted he is proud of his ex-partner. 'She really connects with the fans,' he said. 'Most people, if they do porn, they seem out of reach. You're never going to meet them.' 'You're never going to be able to film with them. Whereas Bonnie puts a location online, and then obviously her fans can actually film with her,' he continued. 'It's like a defining moment in porn, where she's completely changed the game.' Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).
