Children from Croydon with a keen eye for coding are being urged to sign up to a competition taking place across the country between July 28 and August 3.

The LNK unit, in Centrale’s Upper Mall, is a host centre for the Festival of Code, which will see under-19s from the area be presented with real world problems which they will be challenged to address through their self-taught computing skills.

The annual Festival of Code is organised by Young Rewired State, a not-for-profit organisation whose aim it is to foster a love of coding and a determination to teach themselves technological skills in every young person. The initiative is being supported by The Met Office and The University of Plymouth.

Those entering will be supported by Young Rewired State’s team of experts to help them create websites, prototypes and inventive applications, alongside peers with the same passion for coding.

The Festival of Code is taking place at 58 venues and will cumulate in a grand finale weekend, where each of the centres will descend on the i-DAT at Plymouth University.

During the finale, the Croydon youngsters will have the chance to present their designs back to a panel of judges, who will be a mix of influencers and industry names who are spearheading coding across the country.

Young Rewired State has also put together an impressive line-up of guest speakers, who will be present to share their own experiences from within the technology sector. Confirmed speakers include leader of the Hour of Code in the UK, Avid Larizadeh, musician and CEO of Interlude, Yoni Bloch, and George Mpanga – also known as George the Poet.

For the majority, technology has become a necessity in everyday life and this has resulted in a need for a workforce with the ability to code. Coding is needed to create software that provides us with our iPhones, computers, apps, games and much more. Young Rewired State believes that if children with a natural desire to code are encouraged to delve into their passion, they will be well-equipped with a set of hugely desirable skills for their future.

During the week, the youngsters will have the chance to access open data from the world’s leading weather and climate service, The Met Office. The “DataPoints API” technology will give all festival goers unique access to weather forecasts, data and observations to keep them challenged and encourage innovation.

Last year’s Festival of Code saw top prizes taken by designs such as ProjectHermes, a platform for outing internet trolls, Mortune, a music app which played new artists according to your preferences and Establish.Me, a website which unites town councils, residents and businesses and takes advantage of empty shop spaces.

“Young Rewired State’s ambition is to find and foster every child driven to teach themselves to code,” said Emma Mulqueeny, the CEO of Young Rewired State. “Connect them to each other, and a community of mentors, to solve real world problems through open data.

“The Festival of Code provides these young people with an environment that emboldens their passion for coding and programming. It gives them a chance to work in partnership with their coding peers, learn from the experts and create new digital solutions to problems we all face. The week will be very hands-on with plenty of data to get stuck into, as well as the chance to hear from some top speakers from across the industry.”

• All information on the Festival of Code, including Frequently Asked Questions for parents and information on how to sign up can be found here

Coming to Croydon

• Fragile, Spread Eagle Theatre, July 24-26
• CODA’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at Wandle Park, Jul 30-Aug 2
• David Lean Cinema: Locke, July 31
• Mind-Loosening Workshop, Aug 2
• Upper Norwood Library Book Club, Aug 2
• Patchwork and quilting workshop, Upper Norwood Library, Aug 4
• Mythical Maze stories, Crystal Palace Maze, Aug 6
• Elm Tree Cottage garden open day, Aug 10
• Mythical Maze stories, Crystal Palace Maze, Aug 13
• Mind-Loosing Workshop, Aug 16
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Aug 16
• Mythical Maze stories, Crystal Palace Maze, Aug 20
• Mythical Maze stories, Crystal Palace Maze, Aug 27
• Upper Norwood Library well-being groups, Aug 30
• Warlingham rugby dinner with international Richard Hill, Sep 12
• Norwood Society Talk: War Memorials, Sep 18
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Sep 20
• Streatham Common 6M race, Sep 27
• Norwood Society Talk: From Fire Station to Theatre, Oct 16
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Oct 18
• Norwood Society Talk: Lambeth’s Archives, Nov 20

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