Apple Stores to teach children to code, as part of international programming drive

Retail shops will teach children computer science as part of Hour of Code scheme

In this photograph illustration a ten-year-old boy uses an Apple Ipad tablet computer on November 29, 2011 in Knutsford, United Kingdom. Tablet computers have become the most wanted Christmas present for children between the ages of 6-11 years. Many paren (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Apple’s retail stores are set to run free coding lessons for children next week, as part of an international scheme to teach computer programming skills.

The Year of Code, run by code.org, will see a number of initiatives intended to make computer science accessible to children aged six and over. It is the second year that it has run, with last year’s Hour of Code programme reaching 3 million people in the UK.

On Thursday, Apple will participate in the Hour of Code by teaching basic computer science to children in its stores in the UK and elsewhere.

The programme hopes to reach 100 million students by the end of 2014.

“We are proud to be part of making computer science accessible to students of all ages around the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Education is part of Apple’s DNA and we believe this is a great way to inspire kids to discover technology.”

More information about the initiative can be found at code.org.