PRESS RELEASE
Release date: 23rd March 2015
Open source specialist gives junior school a taste of Raspberry pi
An Open Source software specialist has given students at junior school level a taste of Raspberry Pi as it forges links with primary education to help overcome the UK's skills gap and attract young people to a career in coding and IT.
Open source business software specialist, Opus VL, has been working closely with Boughton Lee Junior School in Rugby, Warwickshire, to help develop its computing curriculum and develop the use of open source software, coding and Raspberry Pis by young students aged between eight and twelve years. The company's partnership with the school comes at a time when KPMG has confirmed that 57% of channel businesses find it difficult to hire specialist cyber staff, while APSCo has long stated that there is a severe lack of young people studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects in the UK.
Carl Thornton, Headteacher at the school commented: "We were already working to develop our computing curriculum and by forging links with OpusVL, we have been able to give our students a unique opportunity to learn about open source software and coding at a very young age.
"The work OpusVL has done to help us build our very own coding club has been invaluable. They were able to bring a vast knowledge of open source software and expertise in coding, beyond what a school would normally access. We currently have 10 children, with a range of academic abilities, training with OpusVL to become experts in coding and they have been bowled over by the learning they have provided."
As the primary UK integration partner for Odoo (formerly Open ERP), OpusVL is working at a number of levels to educate young people and businesses about the benefits and overhead reductions that open source software can provide both to SMEs and enterprise businesses. The company is a regular speaker at manufacturing and retail events across the UK and is hosting its own free educational event on May 12 at Warwick University to educate manufacturing and retail businesses about the benefits of open source Enterprise Resource Planning and integrated systems.
Harry Kendrick, a young student at Boughton-Leigh Junior School, gave businesses an insight in to what they can expect.
"I really enjoy working with Opus in our coding club and would definitely recommend the business to anyone looking to learn more about open source and coding. Opus have taught me that you can do pretty much do anything to software once you know how - it adds a whole new excitement in Minecraft!"
Mickey Clarke, Business Development Manager at Opus VL, highlighted how important it is for IT businesses to forge close links with the education sector.
"Young people are always being influenced by technology in their everyday lives and if you can engage with them at a young age, you can really fuel their curiosity and help them find out how systems operate. By working at primary education level, we are able to engage with and inspire young people towards a career in coding and if more IT businesses worked with education, we could definitely increase the amount of young people studying STEM subjects in the UK."
- Ends -
Pictured (r-l) : Harry Kendrick, Matthew Burgess and Craig Barnes (Opus) working on the Raspberry Pi.
About Opus VL
Established in 1999, Opus VL is a leading Open Source specialist implementer and the primary UK Odoo integration partner. The company works with businesses in both the private and public sectors, implementing business management systems and associated services.
For further information, please contact:-
Editorial - Mickey Clarke, Business Development Manager, Opus VL on 01788 298450, or John Edden, Bridge PR & Media Services on 024 76 520025, or e-mail john@bridgepr.co.uk.