Golden Valley funding expands digital skills for Gloucestershire primary schools
Jam Coding Students
Golden Valley funding expands digital skills for Gloucestershire primary schools
Golden Valley is continuing to fund coding and robotics workshops at primary schools across Gloucestershire, helping to inspire children and equip them with essential digital skills.
Delivered by Jam Coding, the programme has expanded significantly over the past twelve months. Five schools were supported during the previous academic year and the initiative is set to reach a further seven schools by the end of the 2026 academic year, broadening access to engaging digital learning opportunities for pupils across Gloucestershire.
A joint venture between Cheltenham Borough Council and developer HBD, part of Henry Boot, Golden Valley is a £1bn project at the heart of the UK’s National Cyber Strategy. Bringing together businesses, academic institutions and R&D facilities united by a security focus, Golden Valley will create a thriving community and an international hub for innovation, research and collaboration.
Children at Springbank Primary Academy, Hester’s Way Primary School and newly added St Thomas More Catholic Primary School are among those taking part in the workshops. The sessions include computer game design, coding, stop motion animation and robotics, with micro:bit programming recently added to the schedule.
Jam Coding delivers computing workshops throughout the UK, equipping children as young as seven with essential digital skills while inspiring creativity and curiosity around technology. During the sessions, Jam Coding provides schools with specialist equipment including laptops, robotics kits and stop-motion cameras, enabling pupils to experiment and learn through hands-on activities.
The schools taking part are located in communities where additional support and access to specialist resources can make a meaningful difference, helping ensure all children have the opportunity to build confidence with digital tools and develop skills that will be increasingly important in the future.
Roger Grogan, CEO & Founder of Jam Coding, said: “We’re delighted that the support from Golden Valley is continuing and expanding. These workshops are designed to make technology exciting and accessible, whether that’s designing a computer game, creating stop-motion animations or learning to program with micro:bits. It’s about sparking curiosity early and showing children that digital skills can open up a huge range of opportunities in the future.”
Hamer Boot, Managing Director of HBD, said: “Golden Valley is all about innovation and building the skills that will shape the industries of the future. Supporting schools is a really important part of that. Programmes like this help bring digital learning to life, giving pupils the chance to experiment with technology and develop skills that will be increasingly valuable as they grow up.”
Cllr Rowena Hay, Leader of Cheltenham Borough Council, said: “Primary schools work incredibly hard to deliver a broad curriculum, but programmes like Jam Coding can provide additional expertise, equipment and inspiration that helps strengthen digital education in the classroom. By expanding the initiative to more schools across Gloucestershire, Golden Valley is helping to nurture the next generation of digital talent - encouraging young people to explore technology, build confidence and develop the skills that will support the region’s future economy.”