DVLA’s Code Challenge back with a bang for 2022

• DVLA’s 2022 Code Challenge competition will once again see primary and secondary school aged students across Wales compete in a coding challenge for the chance to win £2,000 worth of IT equipment for their schools
• Now in its’ fifth year, the competition is run by DVLA’s own volunteer ambassadors to promote the skills in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum

• The competition will see new ‘Commerce in Code’ category for 2022 for students aged between 16-18
• The closing date for all categories is Friday 7 October and a live prize-giving event will be held on Tuesday 6 December

DVLA has announced the return of Code Challenge 2022. The competition provides primary and secondary aged students from across Wales with the opportunity to win up to £2,000 worth of IT equipment for their schools and showcase their STEM skills while they’re at it. Schools can enter by coding their very own game. Entries close on 7 October and a live prizegiving event will take place on Tuesday 6 December.

This year, Code Challenge will include a brand-new ‘Commerce in Code’ category, for students aged between 16-18. Entrants will embark on two weeks of work experience with DVLA and submit their own design for DVLA’s STEM website. The winning website design will be published as DVLA’s official STEM website, with the winners taking home up to £4,000 to spend on IT equipment for their college or school.

DVLA’s Code Challenge was launched in 2017 and is part of DVLA’s volunteer led STEM programme which promotes STEM subjects and IT learning in both primary and secondary schools across Wales.

Since its inception, the competition has grown year on year and DVLA is now calling for schools from across Wales to sign up for the 2022 competition. As in previous years, there will be two age categories for primary and secondary school aged children, for students aged between 7- 11, and for students aged between 11-16, as well as the new ‘Commerce in Code’ category for 16-18 year olds.

The winning schools from both Code Challenge competitions will take home an impressive £2,000 worth of IT equipment for their school or college. But that’s not all – because those entrants who  place second, third and fourth place across both categories will also win prizes to the value of £1,500, £1,000 and £750 respectively.

DVLA Chief Executive Julie Lennard said,

 “I am proud to launch our fifth Code Challenge competition. Learning to code is an incredible skill and one of the digital skills we are keen to see develop in the region.

We can’t wait to see what the talented school students entering this year’s competition have in store and hope that many more schools and colleges from all over Wales take up the challenge in 2022.

A huge thank you to our sponsors and best of luck to all entrants –  we look forward to seeing you at our prize-giving ceremony in December.”

A live, in-person event will be held on Tuesday 6 December to announce the winners of all three categories and give away prizes. This will once again be hosted by TV presenter Sian Lloyd and schools will be able to get tickets for the event via an Eventbrite link.

For more information on DVLA’s STEM programme and how to enter Code Challenge 2022, visit DVLA’s STEM WEBSITE.

How to Enter:

Code Challenge – For school aged children between 7-11, and 11-16:

• Schools can enter by coding their very own game that addresses a theme posed by one of our sponsors
• Entrants can choose from several exciting and topical themes for the 2022 competition. Themes can be downloaded from the DVLA STEM website
• Primary school teams must use the software ‘Scratch’ and comprehensive school teams can use any programming software they like.

Full T&Cs and entry forms can be found on the ‘Downloads’ page of the DVLA STEM website.

Commerce in Code competition – for sixth form and college aged students between the ages of 16-18:

• Colleges and sixth forms can enter this challenge by participating in two weeks of work experience with DVLA, designing a new DVLA STEM website and developing business skills
• Entrants will then be able to submit their entries fora new DVLA STEM website and the winning college / sixth form will win up to £4,000 worth of IT equipment.
• The winner of this competition will also be announced at the live event in December.

Full T&Cs and entry forms can be found on the DVLA STEM website.