Digital leaders of the future

Wednesday 17 May 2023

Primary school students are being trained as ‘Digital Leaders’ so they can help fellow students and their teachers navigate new technologies in the classroom.

More than 100 children from years 4 and 5 at all schools in Guernsey and St Anne's in Alderney were at an event at Beau Sejour yesterday.

They were each chosen after applying for a place on the scheme to learn 'key digital skills', including: presenting, research, technical, leadership and teamwork skills.

The course has already seen the pupils tutored within their own schools by experts from PWC. 

10-year-old Alex from Amherst said he has been able to put some of the skill he has learnt through the course to good use already.

"In our sessions before Easter we had learnt how to do some block coding, and one of my favourite bits from it was the 'forever loops'."

Pictured: Alex and Ralph Meijer have been working together on the digital leadership skills.

"We've been learning some new skills (today) like how to help with the school technology," continued Alex. "When somebody's iPad isn't working we can go and help them see if there is internet, or if there's too many apps open. We can help teachers with the printers so when it gets jammed we can tell the teachers how to sort it out, and we can clean the screen and refill the ink and paper."

Alex was coached by Ralph Meijer, PWC Digital Learning Manager (pictured top right), at school before Easter and they worked together yesterday too.

Mr Meijer said it's all about ensuring the children have useful skills as they grow up.

"My general role includes going into lots of primary schools and teaching them about coding - they're good skills to have but the real skills we want them to get are 21st century skills like creativity, collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking.

"There's no going around it, at work or at school you have to have these basic digital skills and hopefully this is a starting point, a pilot in a way. We hope to do this more in the future, with more digital skills but it could be with other skills as well. We're hoping the kids enjoy it and we can do this morning often."

Pictured: Ensuring children have the life skills they need is one aspect of the course.

Victor Lane - Education Officer for Digital Technology - said the skills being shared with the students through this scheme will be integral to their lives.

"Every aspect of our daily lives now is impacted by digital technology and the research tells us that if you've got good digital technology skills your career prospects are enhanced, you can earn more money, but also every aspect of their lives is easier. Booking a holiday, making a doctor's appointment - all aspects of every day life are impacted by digital technology.

"The research shows us that if you haven't got those skills you're excluded from large swathes of society, culture, the economy, so it's a real key pat of what people need today and into the future to thrive."