Year 4 and 5 pupils train to be digital leaders

Year 4 and 5 pupils selected from each primary school in the island, as well as St Anne’s School in Alderney, attended the workshop to learn key digital skills to support their teachers and peers.

Jemimah Ogunti and Alizah Gates, both 10, attended the training course from La Mare de Carteret primary school.

‘We’ve been learning about ICT and how to fix things that go wrong,’ said Alizah.

‘We’re here so we can help our teachers do things such as clean devices so they don’t have any finger prints on and putting clean paper into the printer,’ said Jemimah.

They said that the sessions had been a mix of presentations, team work and activities.

Head of primary leadership and development Kim Hutchison said that the event aligned with the commitments of the education strategy to equip children for the technology-led future.

‘We live in a digital world –our curriculum recognises that and events like this will only further our young people’s understanding of how technology plays a significant role in the development of the skills they will need in order to succeed,’ she said.

The event was sponsored by PwC and students were given a bag of useful digital equipment.

‘Working closely with schools across Guernsey, and especially these young digital leaders, we can play a key role in inspiring, encouraging and preparing children for a world of technology through exposure to innovative digital education,’ said PwC digital learning manager Ralf Meiger.

‘It’s nice to see lots of girls here today as IT is generally still a very male-dominated industry, and so while this won’t make an immediate difference, I hope that down the line it will encourage more girls to lean towards IT when choosing their school subjects.’