A new scheme from the government-funded National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is enabling children in primary and secondary schools across England to access the latest technology to learn how to control objects by computers.

As of this month, classroom sets of physical computing kits are now available for primary and secondary schools to borrow from the NCCE’s national network of 34 Computing Hubs based at schools and colleges across England.

Physical computing means interacting with real-world objects, such as lights, buzzers and motors by programming them with a computer.

The NCCE Computing Hubs are led by schools and colleges with "excellence" in teaching computing.

They provide training courses with bursaries; teaching and learning resources; and school-to-school support.

“This project is such an exciting opportunity to inspire students of all ages to learn about computing in new and engaging ways by providing kit, content and training for free to schools across England that have not had the budget or expertise to teach physical computing before,” said Dan Elwick, programme manager, NCCE. “We’d like to thank the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and the Raspberry Pi Foundation for their generous donations and Redfern Electronics, Pimoroni and Gratnells for their support in providing the equipment needed for the kits.”

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