Microsoft and BBC bosses visit Eastlea Community School
Satya Nadella and Lord Hall with Eastlea staff and students (picture: Ben Moss) - Credit: Ben Moss
Move over, Steve Jobs. The next generation of digital creatives have shown off their skills to a very special visitor.
Satya Nadella and Lord Hall with Eastlea staff and students (picture: Ben Moss) - Credit: Ben Moss
Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft, visited Eastlea Community School to see what students were doing with a tiny computer.
The MicroBit is going to be given to every Year 7 student in the country as part of the BBC’s Make it Digital project.
Students at the Pretoria Road school had been given early access to the device and showed Mr Nadella, as well as the BBC’s director-general, Lord Hall, their inventive ways to program it.
“We were lucky enough to have an early taster, we were loaned a small number of MicroBits and we had the chance to see what we could do,” said assistant principal Nazanin Shirani.
“We have had the opportunity to work closely with both Microsoft and the BBC and it has been an amazing experience for all of us.”
All Year 7 pupils were involved in the MicroBit pilot in lessons and lunch clubs.
Most Read
- 1 School which has nine-hour days praised as 'outstanding'
- 2 Three in custody over knifepoint robbery in East Ham after foot chase
- 3 Seven men charged following cannabis factory fight
- 4 Burrard Road stabbing: Plea date set for Custom House murder accused
- 5 Tossed cigarette in Chadwell Heath costs Beckton man almost £400
- 6 Plaistow police officer to face GBH trial after man left paralysed
- 7 Men jailed after violent beating with steering wheel lock caught on dashcam
- 8 RideLondon 2022: East and central London roads among 100 miles of closures
- 9 VOTE: Which east London fish and chip shop is your favourite?
- 10 Maskless passengers on London trains and buses fined 4,000 times
Eighteen were able to meet Mr Nadella and be filmed for the BBC.
“It’s not just about coding in the digital world but it’s about being able to connect it to the analogue world now and make things happen in the physical space,” Mr Nadella told the BBC.
“The fact that we’ve now brought it to where a school kid can in fact chase their dream of building a game or building a new type of vehicle, those are the kinds of projects that are very awesome to see.”
Eastlea has long had a technology specialism and has invested heavily in all aspects.
It runs a digital club where students can learn to use new innovations such as 3D printers as well as lessons in how to code.
