Coronavirus: A source of Coding and Gaming Creativity

(Main image is of 12-year-old Jessie with her coronavirus Scratch computer game)

Inspired by current events, First Year (Year 7) pupils at Churcher’s College have been challenged to create a Scratch computing creation with the theme of coronavirus by the school’s Head of Technology.

The pupils have to create a game, animation or story themed on the coronavirus using the Scratch programming environment. The criteria for success are relevance to coronavirus, programming complexity and the fun factor.

The results so far are really creative, take a look at these examples from a handful of 12-year-old pupils:

A quiz by Jessie, aged 12  https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/394533004/

A game by Monty, aged 12 https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/394822427/

A quest by Abigail, aged 12 https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/402327733/

“Walking through Petersfield dodging cyclists during lockdown felt like a computer game which gave me this idea for some fun for our First Years,” explains Karen McCathie, Head of Technology at Churcher’s College. “I want them to interpret the challenge however they wish, so it can be informative, a game, a thank you to the NHS, animation or something else.   Free thinking encourages the girls and boys to really engage with the project, proven by the entries which have been phenomenal!” 

“I have really enjoyed the scratch competition,” says Jessie who has created a quiz which is already very popular among her classmates. “It has been an engaging task during lockdown and has helped me develop my computing skills in a creative and imaginative way.”

There are first, second and third prizes of a mini speaker, charging block and headphones up for grabs and the winning entries will be chosen democratically in a vote by the pupils themselves.  The First Years have had two weeks of lessons plus homework time to finish off their entries. The winning entries will feature on the Churcher’s College website during the Summer.

More about Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/about.