Schools' Outreach

As technology becomes an increasingly significant part of our everyday lives, we believe that it is important that school-age children are taught to understand this technology and utilise it effectively.

A young child working on a coding project

We engage with schools and colleges across the North West, supporting and inspiring pupils and teachers to try some hands-on computing, to hear about our research and to find out about life at university.

We have strong links with both Teach Computing and the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) and their hubs located within Lancashire and Cumbria, as well as the online platform, Isaac Computer Science. All of these organisations offer a range of support for the teaching of computing in schools and colleges.

Research in a Box logo

Research in a Box

Research in a Box is a programme run within the School of Computing and Communications that collates a range of projects that are intentionally designed for children studying GCSE or A-level computing to engage students and teachers in real-world computing projects.

STEM Taster Days

We play an active role in the Faculty’s Taster Days. We aim to inspire over 200 pupils a year by introducing them to some of the best facilities and lecturers our university has to offer. Our latest Taster Day activity enabled pupils to build and program their own Persistence of Vision Displays.

You can register your interest for upcoming events by visiting our STEM Taster Day page, or by emailing stemengagement@lancaster.ac.uk. On registering you will receive further information about sessions and timings.

Taster Days
CyberFirst Logo

CyberFirst

CyberFirst is a government-led organisation offering a programme of events that enables young people to explore and learn about the world of cyber security. The School has recently forged links with Cyber First and will be involved in a range of events throughout the year.

Cyber Girls First

Cyber First Girls offer sessions and events for girls aged 11-14 from local schools that showcase IT, coding and cyber security. Females are underrepresented in the field of computing and these events include talks from women who have attained high levels of management in this field. We will be hosting events throughout the year - please return soon for further information.

Two girls examining a computer system
BBC micro:bit

BBC micro:bit

In 2016 the BBC announced the launch of the micro:bit - a small, lightweight computer designed solely for one purpose: to encourage children to become a generation of digital creators rather than digital consumers. A team of our computer scientists, led by Dr Joe Finney, has contributed to the development of coding and programming behind the device. Measuring 4cm by 5cm, and designed to be fun and easy to use, something simple can be coded in seconds – like lighting up its LEDs or displaying a pattern – with no prior knowledge of computing. All that’s needed is imagination and creativity.

The BBC micro:bit also connects to other devices, sensors, kits and objects, and is a great companion to Arduino, Galileo, Kano, littleBits and Raspberry Pi, acting as a springboard to more complex learning.