A pioneering scheme aimed at encouraging more girls to get involved in coding, technology and engineering is coming to east London.
Girls Into Coding was founded by then 10-year-old Avye Couloute in 2018, after the budding coder noticed the sessions she attended on the topic were dominated by boys.
Since then, it has blossomed into a community interest company she runs with her mother, Helene Virolan, which offers free workshops across London in coding, robotics and physical computing for girls aged 10-14.
The next session will be held at Civo Tech Junction, in Cowper Street, Shoreditch, on Sunday, March 9 at 2pm.
The scheme is supported funding from City Bridge Foundation – the owner of Tower Bridge and four other Thames crossings, and London’s biggest independent charity funder.
Simon Latham, City Bridge Foundation acting managing director, said: “It’s really inspiring to see how Avye and her mum have identified a gap in the market and turned it into a thriving social enterprise.
“Science and technology are really key subjects for the future and it’s great that these workshops are giving more girls the skills and confidence they need to enter what remains a male-dominated field.”
The Shoreditch workshop will empower girls to explore physical computing and engineering by building their own kits, which they’ll use to master the fundamentals of coding and engineering.
The organisers hope it will help to redress a gender imbalance in science, technology and maths, encouraging more girls to take these subjects at GCSE and A-level.
Helene Virolan, Girls Into Coding director, said: “Some progress has been made in getting more girls interested in STEM, but we’re not there yet.
“A lot of the girls tell us they’ve been to other sessions where there weren’t many girls so they didn’t feel they belonged.
“They are really happy to come to our events and see other girls like them who have an interest in tech who want to discover or explore – that’s really important to them.
“What makes the sessions unique is that they’re very hands-on. The coding is the final step, where we put everything into action.”
Girls can sign up for the Shoreditch session via the event section of the Girls Into Coding website at www.girlsintocoding.com
