Horsham firm joins forces with Millais School to help girls become computer coders

Data scientist Amanda Beedham, who works for the RSA Insurance Group at its headquarters in Horsham, launched the initiative with Horsham’s Millais School in a bid to get more girls interested in a male-dominated subject.

And it’s worked. The Code Club project is growing in popularity.

It all started when Amanda and some colleagues approached Millais subject lead of digital technologies Rebecca Hunt who was running an after school coding club and volunteered to help out. “We had some ideas on how to make it fun,” said Amanda.

“We all use apps, websites, or digital games – and we wouldn’t be able to use any of them without an army of coders in the background.

“While there are loads of boys in our schools excited by what a future in coding could look like, there are still a really small number of girls who are interested in one of the fastest growing and highest paying career paths out there.”

And, she added: “The fundamental point is that A1 is expanding at a tremendous rate of knots, and technology as a whole.

“More and more jobs are becoming automated and therefore, if you want a job of the future, being able to code gives you a huge advantage.”

The RSA itself, one of Horsham’s biggest employers, uses coding to help it price effectively.

“I have always worked in data and have made a career in using data and mathematics to predict how likely things are to happen in the future,” said Amanda.

One of the first project the girls at Millais undertook was to use the programming language Python to code a series of LED lights

“We were trying to show how coding is also a creative outlet, and the girls particularly enjoyed experimenting with different colours and patterns,” said Amanda.

The girls have now moved on to creating websites. “It’s really important to me that the employee pipeline of the future is as diverse as possible, as diversity brings a wider range of ideas and perspectives.

“So by role-modelling and showing that coding can be fun and a great creative outlet, I’m really confident that for the girls at Millais School at least we can break the stereotype that this is a boys’ club.”

Millais’ subject lead of digital technologies Rebecca Hunt said: “I have been running code club for the last few years at Millais school. I was delighted to have RSA come on board with us.

“The ladies have been amazing and have been able to give our girls a real insight into jobs that are available in the real world that use coding.”

Pictured is Rebecca Hunt with Amanda Beedham and Alex Tindall, an ex Millais pupil, who helped Amanda launch the initiative.

Also now helping Amanda are RSA colleague Phyllis Wong, maths graduate Holly Bown and RSA’s chief data scientist Nigel Carpenter.